NATO sees big defeat for Russia – Stoltenberg

Ukraine has “achieved a great victory” in the war against Russian aggressors. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this on Monday, November 27 in Brussels at a press conference on the eve of the meeting of foreign ministers of the Alliance.

He was asked about the possibility of peace for Ukraine in exchange for surrendering territories and renouncing NATO membership. In response, Stoltenberg recalled that at the beginning of the war it was expected that “Ukraine would fall in a week” and Kyiv would fall under the control of Russian troops “in days,” but this did not happen. The Ukrainians not only drove the Russian troops from the north, east and south, but liberated 50% of the territory occupied by Russia at the beginning of the war.

“This is a huge victory for Ukraine. At the same time, Russia is suffering heavy losses, tens of thousands of personnel, Russia is increasingly isolated politically, the economy is weaker. As a result, we see a huge defeat for Russia – this did not happen. achieve the strategic goal of controlling Ukraine, but the Ukrainians achieved a lot. Again, it is up to Ukraine to decide (what can be an acceptable way to end the war – edit.), our responsibility is to put them in a stable position. So I welcome the continued support of the allies,” said the general secretary.

He also reaffirmed that Ukraine cannot become a full member of NATO while there is a war on its territory.

“It is too early to say what the decision of the Washington summit will be. All NATO member countries have agreed that in the event of war, full membership is impossible. But we will continue to consider how we can get closer the Ukraine and NATO to each other, preparing for the summit in Washington.” , said Stoltenberg.

Earlier, ex-NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made a proposal for Ukraine to join the Alliance, but without the territories temporarily occupied by Russia.