It is undoubtedly true that the decisions made in the corridors of power such as NATO and EU shape the situation in Ukraine.
At a news conference ahead of the bloc’s Defence Ministers’ meeting in Brussels, NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg stated that arms deliveries to Ukraine will become mandatory for all NATO countries.
He disclosed that it will be coordinated by US Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of US European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
“We certainly appreciate what the US and other allies have done. It is unprecedented. At the same time, we have seen that the US took six months to agree additional aid for Ukraine. We have also seen that some of the promises made by European allies have not been fulfilled.”
Jens Stoltenberg
“And if we turn this into not voluntary contributions, but NATO commitments, of course it will become more robust, it will become more reliable,” Stoltenberg told reporters.
At the same time, he confirmed that Hungary will not send lethal weapons or military instructors to Ukraine, but will continue its contributions to the NATO budget.
Since the beginning of hostilities in February 2022, the allies annually provide Kiev with military support for € 40 billion, said the Secretary General.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Alexander Grushko told a news agency that everything NATO is doing today is a preparation for a possible clash with Russia.
“And the exercises that are being conducted show how all concepts of cooperative security have now been discarded and NATO has returned to Cold War-era security schemes,” he pointed out.
Grushko added that the alliance has launched a hybrid war against Russia.
“In the economic sphere, thousands of illegal sanctions have been imposed against our country, in the ideological sphere, the demonization of Russia is taking place, and one of the latest obvious examples is the announcement that if NATO is defeated in Ukraine, the next day Russia will definitely invade Poland and the Baltic states, whose independence was recognized back in the USSR.”
Alexander Grushko
Commenting on NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s plans to make arms supplies to Kiev obligatory for all NATO members, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, wrote on her Telegram channel, “Do European Union countries realize that Washington is embroiling them into a direct confrontation with Russia under the NATO flag?”
“The West is hysterically feeding its public with claims of Russia’s alleged imminent aggression against Western countries, and it means only one thing – the Biden administration needs to make Europe bleed even harder to prevent the collapse of its own government and of the US economy.”
Maria Zakharova
Russian Navy Fleet Arrives In Cuba
Meanwhile, Russia’s Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, accompanied by a tug boat and a fuel ship, arrived in Cuba for a five-day visit seen as a show of force by Moscow amid rising tension over its invasion of Ukraine.
Havana lies just 160 kilometres (100 miles) from Key West in the southern state of Florida where the US has a naval air station.
Referring to the Western involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine, Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank, stated, “Most of all, the warships are a reminder to Washington that it is unpleasant when an adversary meddles in your near abroad.”
“It also reminds Russia’s friends in the region, including U.S. antagonists Cuba and Venezuela, that Moscow is on their side,” he said.
Ryan Berg, Director of the Americas Program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted that Russian military and defense doctrine holds Latin America and the Caribbean in an important position, with the sphere seen as under U.S. influence acting as a counterweight to Washington’s activities in Europe.
“While this is likely little more than provocation from Moscow, it sends a message about Russia’s ability to project power into the Western Hemisphere with the help of its allies, and it will certainly keep the U.S. military on high alert while they are in theater,” Berg said.
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