Kuleba labels doubters of Putin's potential NATO attack 'shortsighted'
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba (Photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba believes that if the Russian dictator does not suffer defeat in Ukraine, he will attempt to attack a NATO country, according to his interview with Le Figaro.
According to Kuleba, if Putin wins in Ukraine, he will likely attempt to invoke Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which obliges all NATO members to defend a member country if it comes under attack.
"If Europeans want to avoid a war on NATO territory, where their soldiers will have to fight and die, they must help Ukrainians win against Russia in Ukraine today," the Foreign Minister says.
He notes that previously, no one thought that Russia could attack Georgia or Ukraine, but it happened.
"Anyone who thinks today that Putin will not dare to send his army to a NATO country is shortsighted. I would even say, if we set aside political correctness, that they are foolish," emphasizes Kuleba.
NATO prepares for possible escalations
Earlier, the head of NATO's Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, stated that the alliance needed transformation, and the West had to be prepared for an era where anything could happen at any time, including the outbreak of war.
His remarks came amid delays or limitations in military aid to Ukraine from the United States and the European Union.
On January 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that wavering Western support for Kyiv and fears of an escalation of the war with Russia could prolong hostilities for years.
Previously, Bild reported that NATO was planning large-scale exercises in February involving around 90,000 military personnel. The scenario for the exercises was a Russian attack on NATO territory.
On the eve of the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, where resistance to the large-scale military aggression of Russia was discussed, Admiral Rob Bauer, the Chairman of NATO's Military Committee, called on the global community not to succumb to pessimism.
