NATO chief warns allies against ‘historic mistake’

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned members of the bloc against committing a “historic mistake” by allowing Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, to secure victory in the Ukraine conflict. 

Speaking at a conference in Brussels on Thursday, Stoltenberg insisted that Ukraine has proven that it is capable of defeating Russia on the battlefield and has survived thus far thanks to the “unprecedented” support of NATO countries. 

Now, however, Kiev is “running out of ammunition,” the NATO chief warned, and called on bloc members to mobilize their reserves and “show the political will” to provide Ukraine with everything that it needs to continue the fight. 

“All allies need to dig deep and deliver quickly,” Stoltenberg insisted, adding that every day of delay has “real consequences” on the battlefield for Ukraine. 

“This is a critical moment. And it would be a grave, historic mistake to allow Putin to prevail,” he said, adding that such an outcome would be “dangerous for us all.” 

Stoltenberg went on to note that despite Russia’s attempts to “slam NATO’s door shut,” the bloc has instead continued to grow, adding Finland and Sweden to its ranks while “Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before.” 

Moscow has repeatedly cited NATO’s continued expansion towards its border and the possibility of Ukraine becoming a member – which it has called an “instrument for confrontation” aimed at Russia –  as among the main reasons for launching its military operation in February 2022.  

Putin said last month that the conflict is an “existential” one for Moscow and a “matter of life and death,” while for the West it is simply a matter of “improving its tactical positions.” 

The head of Russia’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, also stressed last year that Washington’s actions against Russia and its attempts to “save the Western-centric world order” have effectively made Europe less safe as a whole and turned it into an “arena for confrontation” with Russia.