no to troops –

“The situation on the battlefield in Ukraine is difficult.” This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who met journalists at the end of the two-day meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Atlantic Alliance. He reiterates, first of all, the urgency of mobilizing and making financial support structural, aimed at the defense of Kiev. “If more support is not mobilized, there is a risk that Russia will conquer more territory,” he warned, also assuring that “NATO will not enter into a direct conflict with Russia and will remain outside of direct conflict.”

Asked regarding the invaded country’s request for a larger supply of air defenses, Stoltenberg said that “the allies understand the urgency” and therefore “will look at their inventories to see if there is a way to provide more defense systems , including the Patriots.” The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, who was also present at the summit, also spoke regarding the absolute necessity of receiving the Patriots. Air defenses, Kuleba said, are for “Saving Ukrainian lives, saving the Ukrainian economy, saving Ukrainian cities.”

“Of course, Ukraine is defending its own land, its own territory. And this is enshrined in international law, in the UN Charter. Self-defense is legal. And that is exactly what Ukraine is doing,” he added Stoltenberg. “We have the right to support Ukraine in defending itself and that is what the NATO allies are doing. We have no plans to have allied combat troops in Ukraine. There have been no requests to do so. The Ukrainians are asking for equipment, ammunition and weapons, and we supply them. This does not make NATO allies part of the conflict, but we support Ukraine in its right to self-defense,” he concluded.