During his visit to Kyiv, Mark Rutte pointed out that last night’s Russian missile and drone attacks significantly weaken the credibility of the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. At the same time, the alliance calls on member states to strengthen support for Ukraine with modern defense systems.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said during his visit to Kyiv on Tuesday that the Russian attacks on Ukraine last night do not indicate that Moscow is serious about achieving peace. This was reported by the AFP agency, writes TASR.
“Direct talks are already underway and that is important progress. But Russian attacks like last night do not signal seriousness about peace,” Rutte said in a speech to the Ukrainian parliament.
The strongest attacks of the year
Russia launched the “most powerful” missile and drone attack on energy facilities this year on Tuesday night, leaving thousands without heating in freezing weather, Ukrainian officials said. They came ahead of a new round of US-brokered Russian-Ukrainian talks in Abu Dhabi scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
Rutte said he was calling on NATO member states to “draw deeper into their stockpiles” and provide Ukraine with the air defenses it needs. He also emphasized that despite the crisis surrounding the US demands regarding Greenland, the North Atlantic Alliance did not turn its attention away from supporting Kyiv.
Security guarantees of NATO
According to the head of the Alliance, the European members of NATO are willing to provide strong security guarantees and deploy their troops in Ukraine to monitor the ceasefire.
“The security guarantees are solid and that is essential because we know that reaching an agreement to end this terrible war will require difficult decisions,” Rutte said. According to him, after many victims, loss of life and devastation, Ukraine needs to know with absolute certainty that the war will not happen again.
