Several NATO leaders made clear in a statement that they are taking measures to ensure their nation’s security and defense on land, in the air, and at sea amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The NATO member states warned Moscow that they were increasing the resilience of their societies and infrastructure to counter Russian cyber-attacks and other threats.
Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said four new battlegroups would be sent to Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania.
They are among tens of thousands of U.S. forces and other NATO troops protecting the alliance’s eastern flank.
A senior U.S. security official told Vatican News that some 10,000 American military personnel are also in Ukraine, though the White House insists no U.S. combat troops are on Ukrainian territory.
Diplomats fear Russia might use possible chemical, biological, and even nuclear weapons to fight for control over Ukraine.
NATO leaders praised the people of Ukraine, who, in their words, “inspired the world with heroic resistance to Russia’s brutal war.”
Their statement urged Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to “immediately stop this war and withdraw military forces from Ukraine.”
It also called on nearby Belarus to “end its complicity” in Russia’s invasion.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed NATO should go beyond the rhetoric and called for “military assistance without limitations.” He also accused Russia of using phosphorus bombs in Ukraine.
“It’s not your missiles; it’s not your bombs that are destroying our cities. This morning, by the way, there were phosphorus bombs dropped on Ukraine. Russian phosphorus bombs. Adults were killed again, and children were killed again,” President Zelensky said. “I just want you to know: the NATO alliance can still prevent the deaths of Ukrainians from Russian strikes, from Russian occupation, by giving us all the weapons we need,” he added.
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