It’s in Europe’s interest that Russia doesn’t win Ukraine war: NATO chief

Russia should not be allowed to win the ongoing war in Ukraine, Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), said on Thursday.

He further said that it is in Europe’s interests that Moscow’s “aggressive policies” are repressed. “This is the most dangerous situation in Europe since the second world war,” said Stoltenberg in a speech in Norway.

The NATO chief said that if Russian President Vladimir Purin “thinks of doing anything similar to a NATO country, the complete alliance will react.”

“Russia’s war in Ukraine is an attack on the current world order,” Stoltenberg also said, while urging allies to continue to support Ukraine with necessary weapons and aid.

Russia on February 24 launched an aggressive offensive in Ukraine. SInce then, Moscow’s forces have managed to make minor gains, while the Ukrainian Army continues to give an equal fight.

On Thursday, powerful explosions rattled the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, while a city close to the country’s biggest nuclear power plant sustained a barrage of shelling amid Russian attacks in several regions, according to the daily update by the Ukraine’s presidential office.

At least four civilians were killed and 10 more wounded over the past 24 hours, with nine Ukrainian regions coming under fire, the office said in the statement.

NATO is a military alliance of western nations, formed after the cold war between the US and Soviet Union, known as Russia after the fall. Under the alliance, all European and North American member countries have agreed to defend each other in case of any outside threat.

Living under the shadow of Russia, Ukraine has long expressed its wish to join NATO to protect itself from the aggression of the former Soviet Union. Russia has demanded that Ukraine renounce this demand and declare itself a neutral nation.