Putin can’t get his way in Ukraine – NATO chief

The US-led bloc’s strategy involves supporting Kiev until it can negotiate with Russia from a “position of strength,” Mark Rutte has said

NATO will continue to provide Kiev with large amounts of military aid so that it can keep fighting against Russia, Secretary General Mark Rutte has said, outlining the bloc’s strategy on Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters at a joint press conference with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina in Brussels on Wednesday, Rutte explained that NATO is committed to “preventing Putin from getting his way in Ukraine.”

“This is unacceptable,” Rutte said, stating that “you cannot invade another country in the world of 2022, 2023, 2024” and that the world has “moved beyond colonization.”

He reiterated that NATO will continue to “massively support Ukraine with military aid to make sure that they are in a position to fight back” and will work “very hard to make sure they can prevail.”

“Putin will not get his way, and to make sure that if ever one day [Vladimir] Zelensky and his team will decide to discuss with Russia how to end this, that he will do this from a position of strength, so that he can dominate those talks,” Rutte said.

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Prime Minister Silina concurred with Rutte, stating that “as a NATO country,” Latvia will continue to support Kiev and give it whatever it needs so that “Ukraine will be the one who will decide how the war will end.”

At the same time, the NATO chief admitted that Russia was making advances on the battlefield, but downplayed those developments, claiming that they were coming at “a considerable cost” for Moscow.

Russia has consistently condemned Western arms shipments to Kiev, arguing that they only lead to more bloodshed and prolong the conflict without affecting its outcome. The Kremlin also charges they make NATO a direct participant in the hostilities.

Meanwhile, Moscow reports that its forces are gaining ground in Donbass at breakneck speeds, capturing dozens of cities in recent weeks, including the heavily fortified mining town of Ugledar in the southern section of the front.