Mark Rutte’s support for Kyiv comes ahead of a crucial summit meeting on Oct. 12 to be led by U.S. President Joe Biden. | Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images
Published October 3, 2024
Kyiv’s right to self-defense “does not end at the border,” Mark Rutte says during first trip to Ukraine.
NATO’s new Secretary-General Mark Rutte piled pressure Thursday on hesitant Western countries who refused to give Ukraine the right to use advanced weapons to strike military targets deep inside Russia.
Rutte, during an unannounced visit to Kyiv just 48 hours after taking over NATO leadership, said in a press conference next to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “Ukraine obviously has the right to defend itself, and international law here is on the side of Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s right to self-defense, according to Rutte, “does not end at the border, and Russia is pursuing this illegal war, and that means that targeting Russian fighter jets and missiles before they can be used against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure can help save lives.”
Ukraine has long argued that it’s necessary for Western countries to give permission to conduct such strikes. The U.S., Germany and some European countries, on the other hand, fear this could lead to escalation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Moscow recently revised its doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons to amplify the threat.
Rutte’s support for Kyiv on this issue comes ahead of a crucial summit meeting on Oct. 12 to be led by U.S. President Joe Biden comprising all other Ukraine-supporting leaders, in the so-called Ramstein format. Washington has been under pressure to lift such restrictions before a difficult winter for Ukraine, where the majority of energy infrastructures is likely to be targeted by Russia.
“The only country here that has crossed a red line is not Ukraine. It is Russia, by starting this war,” Rutte said.
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SOURCE: www.politico.eu
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Published October 3, 2024
Mark Rutte, the new secretary general of Nato, said he does not see any imminent threat of nuclear weapons being used by Russia despite “reckless and irresponsible” rhetoric by the Kremlin.
Last week, President Vladimir Putin said Russia was considering changing its military doctrine to regard an attack from a non-nuclear state – such as Ukraine – that was backed by a nuclear-armed one to be a “joint attack”.
Putin’s comments came as Ukraine sought approval to use long-range Western missiles against military sites in Russia.
The former Dutch prime minister was speaking at his first press conference since taking over as head of the military alliance.
Rutte said that while he supported Ukraine’s right to carry out such strikes, it was up to allies to lift restrictions and called for Nato countries to continue arming Ukraine, saying that “the more we help Ukraine at the moment, the sooner [the war] will end.”
“The cost of supporting Ukraine is far, far lower, than the cost we would face if we allow Putin to get his way,” Rutte said, reiterating his predecessor’s commitment to bringing Ukraine closer to Nato membership.
He acknowledged that the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine – where Russia is making slow but steady progress – was “difficult”.
However, Rutte also pointed out that Russia’s gains were limited and had come at a high cost, quoting estimates that 1,000 Russian soldiers were being killed or wounded every day.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
