Yesterday at 20:04
Ukraine has significantly improved its position on the battlefield, but that does not mean Russian leader Vladimir Putin is ready to engage in serious peace negotiations, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said, according to the Financial Times, UATV English reports.
Rutte said Ukraine’s Armed Forces are performing much more effectively than they were just a few months ago.
“I believe Ukraine is now doing much, much better. It is very successfully killing or seriously wounding around 35,000 Russian troops every month. Ukraine is also successfully striking Russia’s energy and military infrastructure, creating major difficulties for the Russian economy. I think that is extremely important,” he said.
According to the NATO chief, the pace of Russia’s offensive has slowed considerably compared with four to five months ago.
“The advances Russia was making four or five months ago have slowed significantly. Ukraine is doing much, much better, and the President of the United States also acknowledged this last week at the White House,” Rutte said.
However, he cautioned against assuming that Ukraine’s military successes alone would compel the Kremlin to return to meaningful peace negotiations.
“Whether this will lead Putin to move toward a peace process depends entirely on him. All we can do is continue supporting Ukraine in this fight and ensure it is as strong as possible when negotiations eventually begin. But whether he wants to participate in those talks or not is for Putin to decide,” Rutte said.
The NATO secretary general urged allies to maintain their support for Kyiv to ensure Ukraine enters any future negotiations from the strongest possible position.
