Stoltenberg: The two main threats to NATO are “Russia and terrorism”

In addition, the senior official revealed that the bloc is preparing an additional aid package of more than 500 million dollars for kyiv.

The two main threats to NATO are Russia and The terrorismsaid the secretary general of the military bloc, Jens Stoltenberg, on Friday at a press conference on the eve of the alliance summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

“At the summit we will take important new steps to strengthen our deterrence and defense. With three new regional defense plans to counter the two main threats to our alliance: Russia and terrorism,” he declared.

According to the senior official, the organization’s military plans include the deployment of 300,000 soldiers in Europe on high alert. In addition, the countries of the bloc will set the 2% of GDP at a minimum for military spending, while NATO defense spending will increase 8.3% in 2023.

Stoltenberg also noted that the alliance countries will increase the supply of artillery shells to Ukraine. According to him, the bloc is preparing an additional aid package of more than 500 million dollars for kyiv, including fuel and medical supplies. “I hope that the Allied leaders reaffirm that Ukraine will become a member of NATO,” he concluded.

The summit of the Atlantic Alliance will be held on July 11 and 12 in the Lithuanian capital. Meanwhile, kyiv is actively pressing Western leaders for a decision on the country’s accession to the bloc in the near future and is demanding guarantees or an official invitation.

• At their Bucharest summit in 2008, the Atlantic Alliance promised Ukraine and Georgia that they would be part of the body, without specifying a specific date. In March 2018, kyiv was awarded the applicant status a member of NATO, and later, in February 2019, established in its Constitution the intention of joining the military bloc, as well as the European Union. In the midst of the war with Russia, kyiv submitted in September 2022 a request for accelerated accession to NATO.
• Russia has repeatedly requested that NATO stop its eastward expansionthat it does not deploy its military infrastructure near the Russian borders and that Ukraine do not adhere to the organization.
• From Moscow they have repeatedly denounced that the Atlantic Alliance participates directly in the conflict in Ukraine, spending millions of dollars in war aid to kyiv and demonstrating its willingness to escalate.
• Last week, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, declared that by supplying arms to kyiv, the West “‘secretly’ finances its military corporations and gets fabulous benefits“, while he is not concerned that Ukraine’s losses number in the tens of thousands and that there are “not enough places left in Ukrainian cemeteries.”