By Agnes Szucs
BRUSSELS (AA) – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday he expects NATO leaders to give the green light for strengthening the alliance and sending further support for Ukraine.
“Tomorrow, I expect allies will agree to provide additional support, including cybersecurity assistance, as well as equipment to help Ukraine protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats,” Stoltenberg told at a news conference ahead of the extraordinary meeting of NATO leaders set for Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also join the NATO leaders for a part of the discussion via video link.
Stoltenberg also said he expects NATO leaders to task military commanders to look into plans about resetting the alliance’s defense and deterrence in the long term.
As the first step of this process, he said, NATO will deploy four new battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia.
Stoltenberg stressed that NATO countries must upscale their defense investments since “peace cannot be taken for granted” anymore after Russia shattered the post-World War II international order.
“President Putin’s invasion is brutal; the human suffering is horrifying and painful to witness. We are determined to do all we can to support Ukraine,” he underlined.
- ‘Nuclear war should never be fought’
Asked about the Russian threat of using nuclear weapons, Stoltenberg asserted that “NATO has plans in place to defend allies against any threat.”
He cautioned: “Nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought.”
The NATO chief also warned that by spreading misinformation about Ukrainians with the help of NATO preparing to deploy chemical weapons, Russia can work on a pretext to use its own chemical weapons against Ukrainians as they did against the Russian opposition and by facilitating the Assad regime’s chemical attacks in Syria.
He said NATO is particularly concerned that “the spread of chemical or biological agents used in Ukraine may have dire consequences also for the population living in NATO countries in Europe.”
NATO allies are concerned that China would provide material support for the Russian war, Stoltenberg added.
NATO leaders are also set to call on Belarus to end complicity in war and urge China “to live up to its responsibilities as a member of the UN Security Council, refrain from supporting Russia’s war effort and join the rest of the world calling for an immediate, peaceful end to this war,” he said.
The Russia-Ukraine war, which began on Feb. 24, has met international outrage with the EU, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
At least 953 civilians have been killed so far in Ukraine and 1,557 injured, according to UN estimates. It has warned, however, that the exact toll is likely much higher as it has not been able to gain access to areas of increased hostilities.
Over 3.6 million Ukrainians have also fled to the neighboring countries, according to the UN refugee agency.