NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine can win this war, NBC News reports.
The remarks follow an informal meeting of the NATO group and come after both Finland and Sweden announced they would apply to join the military alliance. It marks a historic move for the countries, which are traditionally neutral. Finland made their announcement at the end of last week.
Today, Sweden’s prime minister announced that the country would too drop its long-held nonaligned status, and apply to join the Transatlantic alliance.
Both applications from Finland and Sweden are likely to inflame tensions between NATO and Russia even more. The applications are seen as a serious diplomatic blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Sweden’s announcement is the latest evidence that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launched to counter NATO and control Kyiv, is increasingly strengthening the West, analysts say.
Last week, Moscow warned of “retaliatory steps” if Finland joins NATO.
Today, the Russian leader said that Sweden and Finland potentially joining NATO does not pose “an immediate threat” to Russia and that Moscow will consider its response. He said that Russia has no problems with Finland and Sweden and therefore the expansion at the “expense” of these countries does not pose an immediate threat.
However, he said that the expansion of the military infrastructure will “certainly cause our response.”
Ukrainian forces said that they have pushed back Russian military forces in the northeastern region of Ukraine around Kharkiv, as well as near the border with Russia.
The Ukraine forces are continuing a counteroffensive that has prompted Russian troops to withdraw from around Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Russia is scaling back its goals in the east due to persisting struggles in the region. According to military analysts, Russian forces have likely abandoned plans to seize territory in parts of the east, and will likely concentrate on the overtaking of the Luhansk region of the Donbas.
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