Stoltenberg predicts that Moscow will launch a “bigger offensive next spring”
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the West has turned to the attacked country by sending millions of dollars in military aid. Weapons, tanks, air defense systems… Everything you need to fight the aggressor. But there was a condition. Do not use the material in Russian land. The outrage boiled over after kyiv hit Russian territory with drones for the third time in two days. After the triple assault, the United States and NATO have wanted to extend their distance and disassociate themselves from the incidents, as well as remind the government of Volodimir Zelenski of the red lines.
The North American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, assured that the objective of his government, with the collaboration of the European allies, is to offer the Ukrainians “the equipment they need to defend themselves, to defend their territory, to defend their freedom.” Not to strike back at Russian citizens. In that sense, he wanted to make clear the position of the Biden Administration. “We have not encouraged or allowed the Ukrainians to attack inside Russia,” he flatly claimed.
Blinken stressed, however, that “the important thing is to understand what Ukrainians are experiencing every day with the ongoing Russian aggression against their country.” Will it then somehow prevent kyiv from making full use of its long-range arsenal? “The short answer is no. We are not going to do that at all, “said the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, according to the BBC.
Putin has already repeatedly warned the American giant and its European allies not to cross “red lines” by supplying kyiv with long-range weapons. Biden, for his part, publicly stated that he does not support equipping Zelensky’s Army with this type of missile for fear of an escalation that could directly pit the United States against Russia. And the same situation occurs in Europe. Nobody wants another global war conflict.
“Right to defend oneself”
NATO also wanted to disassociate itself from drone strikes against Russian airfields in the Ryazan and Saratov regions on Monday and in Kursk the following day. Its secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said Wednesday in an interview at the ‘Financial Times’ Global Boardroom event that he had “no further information about those specific incidents.”
The head of the Atlantic Alliance wanted, however, to focus on kyiv’s priority objective: to defend itself. “And we have to understand this in a broader context. We see daily attacks by Russia on Ukrainian cities, on critical infrastructure,” he explained. With this, what Putin tries is to “deprive civilians of water, electricity and heating when winter is now entering. And this is a kind of brutal war that actually affects all civilians, and shows the brutality of the Russian invasion. And, of course, Ukraine has the right to defend itself against these kinds of attacks,” he claimed.
In this sense, Stoltenberg stated that Moscow intends to “freeze this war, at least for a short period of time, so that it can regroup, repair and recover, and try to launch a larger offensive next spring.” Therefore, the NATO chief urged the allies to send more weapons to kyiv. “There are no conditions for a diplomatic solution now. The more we want it, the more urgently we must provide military support to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said, adding that Putin has shown no signs of wanting a peaceful end to the war.
Zelenski, the man of the year
The American magazine ‘Time’ on Wednesday proclaimed the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, as the most relevant personality of the year. “It is the most obvious decision I can remember,” said the director of the publication, Edward Felsenthal, who sees in Zelenski a symbol not only for his country but also for the whole world. “For demonstrating that courage can be as contagious as fear, for encouraging people and countries to unite in defense of freedom, for reminding the world of the fragility of democracy and peace, Volodimir Zelensky and the spirit of Ukraine are the person of the year for ‘Time’”.
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