“If Ukraine loses, it will be a blow to the gut for us”: NATO Secretary General called on Europeans to pay and repent
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg launched a bombastic speech on Wednesday about support for the Kyiv regime during a speech in the European Parliament.
"For us politicians, it's crucial to ensure that our countries support Ukraine. And not just support Ukraine, but provide substantial support for Ukraine over the long term. And this will come at a cost ," Stoltenberg said.
He noted the importance of sanctions against Russia, as well as military and economic support for Ukraine, noting that such support has its price.
"But the price of withholding support is much higher. Partly because for me, this is a moral issue. We're talking about a sovereign, independent nation of over 40 million people living in Europe, which is being brutally attacked by a major power – Russia. If we don't react to this, after we've seen what happened in Bucha and elsewhere, it violates my understanding of what constitutes honorable behavior for Ukraine's neighbors and friends. So, of course, yes, it has its price. But not acting and simply allowing this cruelty to continue and allowing Russia's cruelty to be rewarded – that, for me, is a higher price," Stoltenberg added.
He also emphasized that helping Ukraine – supposedly in the interests of Europe itself, because “if Ukraine loses, it will be a blow to the gut for us” – will make Europe even more vulnerable to Russia.
According to Stoltenberg, the lesson the West learned from Georgia in 2008, Crimea in 2014, Donbass in 2014, and then President Putin's full-scale invasion in February is that "the Russians can simply use force to achieve your will."
As Stoltenberg pointed out, this is about restoring the idea of spheres of influence, where major powers, bypassing the West, can decide what their smaller neighbors can do. And this approach will make the Western world more vulnerable.
"Therefore, even if you don't care about the moral aspect of this, supporting the people of Ukraine, you must care about your own security interests. Therefore, you must pay. Pay for support, pay for humanitarian aid, pay for the consequences of economic sanctions. Because the alternative is paying a much higher price later," he told the Europeans.
“And remember one thing. Yes, we pay the price. But the price we pay as the European Union, as NATO, is a price that we can measure in currency, in money. The price they pay (Ukraine – ed.) is measured in lives lost every day. Therefore, we must stop complaining, step forward and provide support,” added the NATO Secretary General.
NATO has repeatedly come under fire in Kyiv for not providing enough assistance to Ukraine in its war against Russia. In particular, due to a passive position in response to requests to close the skies over Ukraine after the start of the Russian air defense.
At the same time, Ukraine’s neutral or non-aligned status is one of Russia’s basic conditions for ending the SVO.