NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, expressed his concern about the situation in Ukraine and also showed solidarity with Georgia, another country that lost territory after a short war with Russia.
NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, expressed his concern on Wednesday about the “very challenging” situation in Ukraine on the front line, as the second anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s war approaches and after Kiev forces left Avdiivka due to their inability to hold their positions.
He said at a press conference with Georgia’s Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, that Ukraine’s retreat from Avdiivka demonstrates the “very challenging” situation on the front line, but that Ukraine has “surpassed expectations repeatedly” and that NATO “remains supportive of Ukraine”.
He also reaffirmed that the Alliance will stand by the country in conflict for as long as needed, especially now that the United States is having trouble maintaining its arms deliveries, which are essential for the offensives.
Stoltenberg mentioned the military aid that the allies have announced recently, worth billions of euros, which includes anti-aircraft defense systems, artillery ammunition and equipment for F-16 fighter jets.
On Saturday, Ukraine’s President, Volodimir Zelensky, revealed that, without these crucial elements to attack and defend from the enemy and its fierce attacks, the soldiers on this front were ordered to withdraw.
He said that “the retreat was a fair decision to save soldiers”, while General Tarnavski added that “in the situation where the enemy is advancing on the bodies of its own soldiers and has ten times more shells, this is the only good solution”.
However, this announcement raised the fear of a Russian occupation in nearby cities. With this victory, Russia’s Armed Forces try to secure a foothold in Donbas, increasing their efforts to take over other Ukrainian strongholds.
“The enemy still has a lot of infantry and military equipment, and also uses aviation” in its “constant assault attempts”, said the deputy commander of the Third Brigade of the Ukrainian Army, Maksim Zhorin, while the authorities have already started the evacuation of residents to safer areas.
“People are scared, my daughter asks me every day to leave”, said Olena Obodets, a 42-year-old woman.
Stoltenberg also used the visit of Georgia’s PM, Irakli Kobakhidze, to the Organization’s headquarters in Brussels to remind the whole international community that Georgia is “a close partner of NATO” and, therefore, “fully supports its sovereignty and territorial integrity”, referring to the territories that, since the 2008 war, are under Russian military presence.
He also emphasized the current military cooperation and asked to “accelerate” the relevant reforms so that the nation – a candidate for membership – joins the European Union bloc.
He concluded that “it is now important for Georgia to continue and accelerate internal reforms and uphold democratic values. “We want to see Georgia move in the right direction, towards more democracy and prosperity, towards full integration of the Euro-Atlantic family”.
