NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has advised Western countries to prepare for the long term to provide humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine as the Russian military appears to have no intention of letting up on its military campaign.
«It is true that Ukrainian forces have been leading the way for months but Russia has mobilized many additional troops, many of whom are now training,» the secretary told the BBC.
Just this Sunday, the decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin last August to increase the military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces by 137,000 in the wake of the war in Ukraine came into force.
According to the decree published on Russia’s legal information portal, the Russian Armed Forces will increase to 2,039,758 personnel, of which 1,150,628 are military personnel, as reported by the TASS news agency.
For Stoltenberg, this announcement indicates that «Russia is ready to continue the war and possibly launch a new offensive».
Given the situation, Stoltenberg considered that the constant sending of military aid to Ukraine is «the only solution to convince Russia that they have to sit down with Ukraine, to negotiate in good faith with respect for a sovereign and independent nation in Europe».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
