This is the first time Stoltenberg has visited the country since Russia attacked in February 2022. According to the newspaper The Kyiv Independent, the NATO chief will honor fallen soldiers at St. Michael’s Square in the center of Kyiv. Pictures from the visit also show Stoltenberg greeting soldiers. news gets the visit confirmed from an official meeting. Stoltenberg observes what is supposed to be destroyed Russian military equipment. Photo: GLEB GARANICH / Reuters Surprising visit The picture also shows Stoltenberg looking at what Reuters describes as destroyed Russian military equipment. The visit was not announced in advance, and the program for the visit is also not known. The NATO chief should actually have welcomed the Czech president, Petr Pavel, at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels on Thursday morning. Stoltenberg greets Ukrainian soldiers. Photo: GLEB GARANICH / Reuters – It is important to show support Ukraine will probably start a major military offensive within a few weeks. The spring offensive will be decisive for the further development of the war, whether the Russians will be pushed out, or whether there will be a prolonged and deadlocked conflict. – NATO’s secretary general probably needs to show support for the authorities in Kyiv, and perhaps also help to strengthen morale before announcing the spring offensive. President Vladimir Putin has recently visited eastern Ukraine, so this is about showing that Ukraine has strong western support. Senior researcher Julie Wilhelmsen. Photo: Christopher Olssøn That’s according to senior researcher at Nupi, Julie Wilhelmsen. – How important is this visit for Ukraine? – Both weapons aid and moral support from the West are very important. The challenge here is that President Volodymyr Zelensky’s stated goal of taking back the Crimean peninsula is probably not a goal that Western states and NATO are willing to help him achieve. On Friday, the NATO chief is scheduled to participate in a meeting with the so-called contact group for Ukraine. This is a collection from 50 countries that will help the country with military equipment. The meeting is scheduled to take place at the Ramstein base outside Kaiserslautern in Germany.
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NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on a visit to Kyiv – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
