NORWAY: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the Western military alliance has the joint tasks of both supporting Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion and to prevent the conflict from spreading into a war between Russia and NATO.
Speaking to a summer camp in his native Norway, Stoltenberg said NATO has a moral responsibility to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people who have been subjected to a war of aggression.
“We are seeing acts of war, attacks on civilians and destruction not seen since World War II,” Stoltenberg said, according to a NATO release of his prepared remarks. “We cannot be indifferent to this.”
Stoltenberg said the world will be a more dangerous place if Russian President Vladimir Putin gets what he wants through the use of military force.
“If Russia wins this war, he will have confirmation that violence works. Then other neighboring countries may be next,” he said.
Ukraine’s military said Thursday that Russian forces were shelling multiple areas in Ukraine, including those around Kharkiv, Slovyansk and Chernihiv.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces were using missiles and artillery attacks against Russian “military strongholds, personnel clusters, logistical support bases and ammunition depots.” A ministry statement said such attacks were likely to have a high impact on Russia’s efforts to resupply and support its forces.
(VOA)
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