NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks about the Ukraine war and admits mistakes in the preparation: Much was done right, but much was not.
Brussels – Jens Stoltenberg spent ten years as Secretary General at the head of the NATONow he will resign from office in October and is expected to report to the portal Politico and the Editorial Network Germany (RND) will take over the position of head of the Munich Security Conference (MSC). In an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Stoltenberg talks about the Ukraine War and makes admissions about what could have gone better.
In the interview, he calls February 24, 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, the worst day during his time as NATO Secretary General. It was already known through intelligence services that the invasion would happen. The war had already begun in 2014 with the annexation of the Crimea and secession of parts of the Donbass. However, the situation remained “static” for a long time. Until there was “a significant Russian buildup near the border with Ukraine” in the spring of 2021.
NATO chief Stoltenberg regrets situation in Ukraine: Allies could have done more
Stoltenberg says that the Russian intentions had already been revealed through intelligence information. “We then did everything we could to dissuade Russia from an invasion through diplomatic means,” Stoltenberg explained in an interview with the FAZBut seeing it happen still shocked him. “I realized that this was a turning point in our history: there is a Europe before this day and a different Europe after this day.”
Previously, there was a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels in January 2022. The Russian troop build-up on the Ukrainian border was discussed unsuccessfully, as the RND reported. Moscow rejected plans to invade eastern Ukraine. At the same time, it demanded that NATO not expand further eastwards and that its troops be withdrawn from the Eastern European NATO states. NATO rejected these demands.
Prepared for war: Preparations were made in advance
Stoltenberg explains that Russia’s two deputy foreign and defense ministers claimed that the country was threatened by Ukraine. “They showed maps, probably to prove how Russia was surrounded by NATO. But even these maps were wrong.”
When the invasion began, NATO was prepared – and had been since 2014. In advance, after information about the Russian plans became known, precautions were taken. NATO defense plans were activated and Ukraine was assured of NATO support, says the 65-year-old. The main aim was to support Ukraine and prevent a war between Russia and NATO.
“We could have done much more”: Stoltenberg believes in dialogue with Russia
Nevertheless, despite preparations, there are things that Stoltenberg regrets. Among them is that more was not done to strengthen Ukraine earlier. “If Ukraine had been militarily stronger, the threshold for Russia to attack would have been higher.” The Secretary General reports on his visit to Ukraine in 2015. “The USA, Canada and the United Kingdom trained soldiers there, but we as NATO did not. Overall, our training and equipment were quite limited. We could have done a lot more.”
Arms deliveries to Ukraine
In a statement from the Scientific Services of the German Bundestag from 2022, the Arms deliveries from Western countries to Ukraine before the start of the Ukraine war in 2022 and after According to this, among the EU states France for 1.6 billion euros, Poland for 657 million euros, Denmark for 222 million euros and the Czech Republic for 166 million euros the most weapons in the period from 2014 to 2020. Deliveries from Germany amounted to 44 million euros. Taken together, the Deliveries from the EU According to the statement, 2.9 billion euros. USA delivered weapons worth $2.7 billion from 2014 to February 2022.
As of August 2024, Germany has provided military aid totalling approximately 28 billion euros made available to support Ukraine, the Federal Government on their website. (gel)
The 65-year-old expressed regret, particularly when it came to equipment. Ukraine should have been militarily strengthened earlier. “Now we are equipping Ukraine for war, but back then we could have equipped Ukraine to prevent a war.” In order to put an end to the war, a dialogue with Russia is needed again “in connection with defense and deterrence.” This time, however, with a strong Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the current situation in the Ukraine war is becoming increasingly tense. The question is whether Ukraine is allowed to attack Russian territory with Western weapons. Russia, meanwhile, is constantly making losses in its attempt to occupy more land. (gel)
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