Bahmut may fall soon, according to NATO
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the Ukrainian town of Bahmut, where fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces continues, could soon fall into Russian hands.
Stoltenberg attended the meeting of the defense ministers of the European Union (EU) countries in Sweden. Making a statement to reporters before the meeting, Stoltenberg said that there have been intense clashes in and around Bahmut in recent weeks, and that Russia has deployed more soldiers here. Stating that the Russian forces suffered heavy losses, Stoltenberg said: “At the same time, we cannot ignore that Bahmut may fall in the next few days. It should be emphasized that this situation will not be a turning point in the war. This underlines that we should not underestimate Russia. “We must continue to support Ukraine,” he said.
Stating that NATO allies gave 150 billion euros of military, financial and economic support to Ukraine in the last year, Stoltenberg pointed out that 65 billion euros of this was military support. Stressing the need to keep its own arms and ammunition stocks full while supporting Ukraine, Stoltenberg said that in addition to increasing defense industry production, some NATO allies continue to work on joint purchases.
‘WE PROGRESS WITH TURKEY’
Stoltenberg recalled that he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a few weeks ago, on the question of whether the meeting between officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland at the NATO headquarters in Brussels would yield any results. Stating that, in addition to many other issues, Sweden and Finland also discussed the issue of membership, Stoltenberg continued as follows:
“We are making progress. President Erdogan accepted the resumption of negotiations. A meeting will be held tomorrow at NATO headquarters between Finland, Sweden and Turkey. After a long time without meeting, the realization of this meeting is important in itself. Membership is a process and I don’t expect the process to end tomorrow. However, I believe that Sweden and Finland will become members of NATO. This is our top priority.”
Asked if he had confirmed reports that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipeline last year, Stoltenberg said: “What we do know is that there was sabotage of the gas pipeline, but we have not been able to determine who was behind this.”
Recalling that some countries continue with their own investigations, Stoltenberg stressed that it is necessary to wait for them to be completed to determine who perpetrated the attack. (AA)