NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visited Ukraine on Thursday for the first time since Russia invaded more than a year ago, a symbolic trip that shows the alliance’s commitment to Kyiv’s defense.
The Kremlin swiftly warned against Ukraine joining NATO. Russia has given many reasons for going to war, including fears that Kyiv might be allowed to the military alliance.
Local media showed Stoltenberg honoring slain Ukrainian servicemen in Kyiv’s St. Michael’s Square.
The symbolic visit, two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Ukraine, was unclear.
Throughout the battle, Stoltenberg has been NATO’s forceful voice. He has helped the organization’s 31 countries provide guns, ammunition, and training to Ukraine’s beleaguered military.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visited Ukraine for the first time since Russia invaded almost a year ago.
NATO only offers generators, medical equipment, tents, military uniforms, and other nonlethal support to Kyiv’s administration.
High-level visits have grown common as NATO, founded to fight the Soviet Union, has evolved from tentatively sending helmets and uniforms to tanks, bombers, and powerful missile systems.
This is Stoltenberg’s first wartime visit to Kyiv. Stoltenberg has often promised that Ukraine will join NATO.
Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, claimed Moscow’s “special military operation” aims to keep Ukraine out of NATO. In a Thursday press conference, Peskov called Ukraine’s entry a “serious, significant threat to our country, to our country’s security.”
Finland joined the alliance this month, ending decades of neutrality. NATO claims it doesn’t threaten Russia, but the Nordic country’s entry hurt Putin politically.
Finland’s joining doubles Russia’s border with the largest defense alliance. Sweden may join by July, when U.S. President Joe Biden meets NATO leaders in Vilnius.
To deter Putin, the alliance has strengthened its own defenses. NATO’s collective security guarantee considers an assault on one member an attack on all.
The former Norwegian prime minister was one of the last Western leaders to visit Kyiv last year.
Stoltenberg and Lloyd Austin will attend a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Friday. It’s the key international platform for military help for the war-torn nation.
Denmark and the Netherlands announced Thursday that they will give Ukraine at least 14 repaired German Leopard 2 battle tanks in early 2024.
Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany previously pledged at least 100 older Leopard 1 A5 tanks.