Global Courant
The aborted rebellion of the Russian mercenary group Wagner at the weekend demonstrated the extent of the Kremlin’s strategic mistake in launching the war in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday.
Russia attempted to restore calm on Monday as Wagner fighters halted their advance towards Moscow, left the captured Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and headed for their bases late on Saturday after reaching an agreement that guarantees them security.
According to the agreement – brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenka – their commander, Yevgeny Prigozhin, must go to Belarus.
“The events of the weekend are an internal matter and another demonstration of a big strategic mistake that President (Vladimir) Putin made when he started the annexation of Crimea and the war in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said from Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. .
Confusion over the weekend’s extraordinary events has left Western governments scrambling for answers about what might be happening in the country with a powerful nuclear arsenal — and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Stolteberg said that NATO is monitoring the situation in Belarus and condemned Moscow’s decision to send nuclear weapons there.
“We have seen no signs that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons, but NATO remains vigilant,” Stoltenberg said, adding that NATO’s defenses are strong enough to hold people back. safe “in a dangerous world”
At the same time, Stolteberg has reiterated NATO’s continued support for Kiev.
“If Russia thinks it can intimidate us from providing aid to Ukraine, it will fail,” he said.
“We will be close to Ukraine as long as it is needed.”
Stoltenberg has been in Lithuania to see the NATO exercises up close.
He has said that the exercises send a clear message that NATO is ready to defend every inch of the alliance.
The war in Ukraine started on February 24, 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the war a “special military operation” to demilitarize Ukraine.
The West has responded to Russia, hitting the economy of this country with harsh sanctions.
As a result of the war, thousands of people have died and millions more have been displaced from their homes.
Global Courantl
