Putin's Nuclear Talk Shouldn’t Stop NATO Support for Ukraine, Stoltenberg Says
Sep 30, 2024
NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg urges members to keep helping Ukraine, despite Putin’s nuclear warnings. No changes detected in Russia’s nuclear actions, he says.
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NATO countries should not be afraid to send more military help to Ukraine, even though Russia is making nuclear threats, said Jens Stoltenberg, the outgoing leader of NATO.
In an interview with Reuters, Stoltenberg responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent warning that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was hit by regular missiles. Putin also said that any attack on Russia, if backed by a nuclear country, would be treated as a joint attack on Russia.
These warnings from Putin came as the United States and other allies of Ukraine discuss whether to allow Ukraine to use Western missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia. Ukraine says it needs permission to hit areas that are supporting Russia’s war efforts.
Stoltenberg explained that Putin’s nuclear threats are nothing new. "What we are seeing is Russia using nuclear threats again, as they have done before," Stoltenberg said. He encouraged NATO countries to keep sending Ukraine weapons like tanks and long-range missiles.
“Every time we give Ukraine more weapons, Russia tries to stop us, but they have not succeeded,” he added. “This new nuclear warning should not stop NATO from helping Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg also confirmed that NATO has not noticed any changes in Russia’s nuclear actions that would need NATO to respond differently. He warned that the biggest danger would be if Russia wins the war in Ukraine. "If Putin wins, it will show the world that using force and making threats works, and that would make all of us less safe," he said.
Stoltenberg admitted there are no “risk-free” choices in a war, but letting Russia succeed would be the most dangerous option. If Putin thinks nuclear threats can force others to do what he wants, it will create bigger problems in the future.
The United States has been careful about letting Ukraine strike deep inside Russia using long-range missiles. They worry that it might cause Russia to retaliate more strongly.
Some Western leaders are also unsure how much these strikes would change the situation in the war. Stoltenberg agreed that there isn’t a single weapon that will fix everything in the conflict, but he said that deep strikes could still help Ukraine in pushing back against Russia’s forces.
Looking ahead, Stoltenberg said any peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine must include promises from the West to protect Ukraine. He believes that these security guarantees, especially from the U.S., are necessary to make sure Russia doesn’t ignore any peace deal in the future.
"Russia has broken peace deals before and returned to fighting," he said, pointing to conflicts that started in 2014.
While Stoltenberg said it’s hard to change President Putin’s mind about Ukraine, he believes Putin can still be convinced to stop. “We have to show that the costs of this war are too high for him to keep fighting. Only then will Russia accept Ukraine as a free and independent country," Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg is stepping down as NATO leader, and Dutch ex-prime minister Mark Rutte will take his place.
