Stoltenberg: Russia's victory in Ukraine is the main risk for NATO
NATO views Russia’s victory in Ukraine as its "biggest cost and the greatest risk," because the outcome of the conflict will shape global security for decades, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, TASS reports.
"The biggest cost and the greatest risk will be if Russia wins in Ukraine. We cannot let that happen," he said while opening this year's NATO summit.
In his opinion, Russia’s victory will also embolden "authoritarian leaders in Iran, in North Korea and China."
"They all support Russia, <…> they all want NATO to fail. So the outcome of this war will shape global security for decades," the NATO secretary-general added.
He called upon all members of the alliance to support Ukraine more intensively but did not mention prospects for Kiev’s membership.
Ukraine "will get this assistance before anyone else gets it,” Biden said Tuesday. "All told, Ukraine will receive hundreds of additional interceptors over the next year, helping protect Ukrainian cities against Russian missiles.”
Zelenskyy has been asking for the systems for months, and leaders were anxious to respond after a Russian air barrage on Monday killed more than 40 people, including at a children’s hospital. Earlier in the day, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said NATO nations would also send Ukraine F-16 fighter jets — an idea the U.S. has backed for more than a year.
