NATO Secretary General spoke about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc currently does not have any plans related to sending troops to fight in Ukraine.
In the latest interview with Italian news agency ANSA, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg once again emphasized that the bloc has no plans to deploy troops on Ukrainian territory. Rather, it is important that Ukraine be provided with adequate military aid.
"NATO has no intention of sending troops to Ukraine. When I visited Ukraine last week, the country did not ask for NATO troops to fight, they asked for more military aid," Mr. Stoltenberg said. Stoltenberg pointed out that due to delays in the delivery of US and European military aid to Ukraine, Russian forces were able to make progress in their offensive. The situation is currently changing but there are still no reports of weapons in the new aid packages being "on the ground".
The NATO Secretary General added that up to now President Vladimir Putin still believes that Russia can win militarily in Ukraine. Therefore, the only way to convince Moscow to come to the negotiating table is to prove that it will fail on the battlefield, and the only way to do that lies in aid to Ukraine.
Mr. Jens Soltenberg also unexpectedly revealed last month that NATO member countries all have military personnel stationed at their respective embassies in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. These soldiers stay as advisers to Ukraine.
The US is also considering sending more military advisers to its embassy in Kiev. These advisors will play a non-combat role, primarily providing logistical support, monitoring US weapons supplies and assisting with weapons maintenance. According to Politico sources, this number could be up to about 60 people. Regarding this issue, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba stated in March that the country could defeat Russia without NATO sending troops to fight. He agreed that French President Emmanuel Macron's comments about the possibility of NATO deploying troops to Ukraine at that time were misinterpreted.
Mr. Macron just wants to say that it is possible to train Ukrainian soldiers directly in Ukraine, not outside like what is happening now," Mr. Kuleba said, emphasizing what Ukraine needs from its allies. The West is weapons, especially drones, not manpower.
Meanwhile, Russia has long considered the conflict with Ukraine a Western proxy war against this country. Moscow has also repeatedly warned that foreign fighters in Ukraine will be considered foreign mercenaries and targets of legitimate attacks.
