“Ukraine can win the war”
G7 want to “never” recognize borders moved by Russia
The leading industrial nations are threatening Russia with further isolation. Meanwhile, Moscow says that Finland and Sweden could join NATO as unjustified. This is in danger of bursting due to interference from another member country – Turkey.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Geoana is convinced that Ukraine will defeat Russia. Two things would contribute to this: the courage of the Ukrainian soldiers and the help of NATO. The Russian offensive is already “losing momentum”.
Dhe Deputy Secretary General of NATO Mircea Geoana has assured Ukraine of continued Western support in its fight against Russian troops. “Thanks to the courage of the Ukrainian army and our help, Ukraine can win this war,” Geoana said on the sidelines of informal consultations between NATO foreign ministers on Sunday morning in Berlin. The Russian offensive in Ukraine is already “losing momentum”.
Geoana spoke positively about Sweden’s and Finland’s plans to join NATO. He was “confident that the Allies” would examine possible membership applications from both “vibrant democracies” “constructively and positively. Turkey’s “concerns” regarding this issue were discussed “amicably”. NATO’s “open-door policy” is “sacrosanct”.
Mircea Geoana, NATO Deputy Secretary General
Source: dpa-infocom GmbH
The Finnish government recently announced that it intends to apply for NATO membership. Sweden also wants to decide soon on a similar step. In both countries, the parliaments have to approve the applications for membership.
Could Turkey prevent accession?
Turkey had expressed reservations about the accession of the two countries. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Nordic countries of being close to Kurdish extremists. Numerous NATO states, including the federal government, have already expressed their support for Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
Geoana is representing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who has to isolate himself because of a corona infection, during the consultations of the NATO foreign ministers in Berlin. Geoana congratulated Ukraine for winning the Eurovision Song Contest. This is an expression of the “immense public support for the courage of Ukraine all over Europe and Australia”.
According to British estimates, Russia lost about a third of the ground troops deployed in the attack on Ukraine. The British Ministry of Defense said in its daily situation assessment on Sunday that the Russian military is suffering from a constantly high degree of attrition. At the same time, it has not been able to achieve any notable territorial gains in the past four weeks.
“Russia’s Donbass offensive has lost momentum and is well behind schedule,” the ministry said on Twitter. The armed forces suffered from persistently low morale and diminished combat effectiveness. Under current conditions, Russia is unlikely to accelerate the pace of its advance over the next 30 days.
According to Ukrainian authorities, there was a rocket attack in the Lviv region on Sunday morning. As the governor there, Maxim Kosizki, reported on the messenger service Telegram, the military infrastructure was hit. Heavy fighting continues in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.