Stoltenberg: Ukraine has the right to strike Russian military targets outside its borders
He said that NATO is working on how to make assistance to Ukraine permanent and reliable
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg responded to journalists' requests to confirm the attack against a Russian warship in the port of Kaliningrad and comment on whether Ukraine has the right to use weapons outside its borders.
Ukraine has the legal right to use weapons against military targets outside the country, as it exercises its right to self-defence against Russia's attack, Stoltenberg said in Brussels during a joint press conference with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Ukrinform reports.
"First of all, I will not go into details when it comes to intelligence. Secondly, I will not give specific advice on what kind of targets Ukraine can or cannot attack, except that it is part of its right to self-defence – to hit legitimate military targets outside its own country. Because Russia uses so many different types of capabilities to attack Ukraine. Ukraine has the right to self-defence, and that also includes legitimate military targets outside of Ukraine," Jens Stoltenberg said.
During the meeting with the President of Finland, they discussed the situation in Ukraine and the urgent need to provide more reliable and predictable assistance to Ukraine.
"The situation on the battlefield is difficult. Delays in funding have direct consequences on the ground every day. Delays in the delivery of air defence equipment will allow Russian missiles to hit more targets, and delays in the delivery of ammunition will allow Russia to press along the front line. Ukraine cannot wait. It needs air defence systems, ammunition and assistance. Now," the NATO Secretary General stressed.
He reminded that in all these circumstances, Ukrainians have already achieved a lot and they can win, but they need support from their allies.
Stoltenberg said that NATO is actively working to ensure reliable and predictable assistance to Ukraine now and in the longer term, so that Ukraine can rely not only on voluntary contributions from member states, but also on their NATO commitments.
"moscow must understand that they will not be able to 'wait it out' for such assistance. A package for Ukraine with predictable and reliable support is exactly what we at NATO are working on now," Jens Stoltenberg added.
He thanked President Stubb for Finland's strong contribution to the Alliance's efforts to support Ukraine.
Stoltenberg also noted that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Finland has provided Ukraine with military assistance worth around €2 billion, including €30 million for the Czech Ammunition Initiative.
Background. To recap, La Republica wrote that NATO does not rule out the option of Ukraine joining the alliance in exchange for giving up the occupied territories.
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