At the summit meeting of the eastern alliance states in Warsaw, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is campaigning for showing Russia its borders once and for all. “We must not allow Russia to continue undermining European security,” said the Norwegian in a speech. One must “break the cycle of Russian aggression” and ensure “that history does not repeat itself”.
In this context, Stoltenberg points out that before the start of the great war against Ukraine, Russia had already attacked Georgia in 2008 and then annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014. He also began supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine. “We have witnessed Russia’s aggressive behavior pattern for many years,” he says.
With regard to the current war, Stoltenberg says that one does not know when it will end. A year after the start of the Russian invasion, there are no signs that President Vladimir Putin is preparing for peace. Therefore, support for Ukraine must be continued and further strengthened. “We have to give Ukraine what it needs,” he says.