Ukraine Asks NATO To Expand Support In Conflict With Russia | News from Germany about Ukraine

Kiev counts on expanding NATO support in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. “We will urge allies to work with Ukraine to develop a three-tier containment package,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday, December 1, ahead of talks with colleagues from 30 NATO countries in Riga.

According to him, the first level should consist in a clear communication of the consequences of the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. In addition, the package should contain economic sanctions that will be imposed against Moscow in the worst-case scenario. Thirdly, more intensive cooperation between NATO and Ukraine in the field of defense is necessary, Kuleba said further and suggested that by doing so it would be possible to influence the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“If we join our efforts and act in a coordinated manner, we can keep President Putin from choosing the worst scenario, which is a military operation,” the Ukrainian minister said.

Stoltenberg pledged support for the sovereignty of Ukraine and Georgia

On December 1, Riga hosts a meeting of NATO foreign ministers with their counterparts from Ukraine and Georgia. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the same day confirmed “the strong support of the allies for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and Georgia.” According to him, the alliance will provide both countries with “political and practical assistance.” In addition, NATO continues to offer Ukraine and Georgia the prospect of membership, Stoltenberg said.

After the first day of the meeting of the foreign ministers of NATO member countries in Riga, Stoltenberg called on the allies to prepare for the worst against the background of the accumulation of Russian troops near the borders of Ukraine. “We need to convey to Russia that it should not carry out a military invasion of Ukraine,” he stressed. There is neither certainty nor clarity about the specific intentions of Moscow, the head of the alliance added and announced that NATO countries were using an anti-crisis mechanism, which would allow monitoring the development of the situation and reacting to it in a timely manner.

From the end of October, Western media began to report about Russia’s building up of its military presence along the borders of Ukraine. The last time a similar thing happened in the spring of 2021 and also caused serious concern in the world. But if the events in the spring were regarded as a show of force, then the current situation may be preparation for the actual invasion of Donbass in eastern Ukraine, the US intelligence services believe. Moscow denies all accusations of preparing an attack on Ukraine and, on the contrary, points to increased NATO activity near the Russian borders.

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The conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in early 2014, when pro-Russian separatists took control of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. According to the authorities in Kiev and their Western allies, the Kremlin is helping the separatists by supplying illegal weapons and sending mercenaries. Since then, the parties to the conflict have repeatedly agreed on a ceasefire, but these agreements have been constantly violated.

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By Jan Walter, Kevin Mertens