NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday welcomed Russia’s announcement that it is withdrawing its troops from the city of Kherson in a maneuver aimed at defending the left bank of the Dnieper River, saying it is «encouraging» to see the success of Ukrainian counter-offensives.
«We will see what happens on the ground, but Russia has already been forced to retreat in the north, in Kiev, in the east, in Kharkov, and now we see how the Ukrainian troops are driving out the Russian forces in the south, in Kherson,» the NATO political chief said in statements from London, after meeting with the new British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.
In this sense, the former Norwegian prime minister considers «encouraging» to see «how the brave Ukrainian troops are able to liberate territory» and stressed that the progress on the battlefield is due to the courage of the Ukrainian army, but also to the support that the United Kingdom and the rest of NATO members offer to Kiev.
«The support we provide is essential and will continue to be maintained, that is the message: we will continue to support Ukraine,» Stoltenberg stressed from Downing Street.
Asked about a possible fatigue in the support to Ukraine, and when more voices in the US Republican Party call for cutting support to Kiev, the allied secretary general has minimized the issue, assuring that in democracy there are always different opinions but «clearly» in the 30 allies call for continuing support to the Ukrainian authorities in the face of Russian military aggression. «It is in our interest that Ukraine continues to prevail as an independent nation in Europe,» he stressed.
Thus, following the Republican gains in the U.S. congressional elections, Stoltenberg has been blunt, insisting that it is «absolutely clear» that there is «strong support from both parties» for continued military backing of Ukraine. «That has not changed in this U.S. election,» he said.
TRAINING UKRAINIAN TROOPS During his trip to the UK to meet with the new prime minister, Stoltenberg has valued London’s contributions to security in Europe and has particularly appreciated the training of more than 30,000 Ukrainian forces since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, when NATO began supplying material and logistical support to Kiev.
The allied secretary general has visited the base in Lydd where the UK, Canada and Lithuania train Ukrainian troops, saying the task is an «important example» of the UK’s contribution to NATO. «I am sure this will make a difference on the battlefield,» the former Norwegian prime minister stressed.
