NATO Secretary-General has expressed his understanding of the frustrations of Ukrainian President and people, but stressed the importance of the Alliance avoiding escalating conflict stating that the war must not go beyond the borders of Ukraine.

“We have increased military and financial support, and Germany is playing a key role in this effort”, said Jens Stoltenberg. Also because of “unprecedented sanctions”, Russia will pay a “high price”.

The NATO Secretary General stressed that the Allies had trained Ukrainian troops after the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, “and all this helped against the invasion of Russian troops”.

“I understand the frustration of Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian people, because they are the victims of a brutal war brought about by the invasion of President Putin’s troops. At the same time, we need to make sure that this conflict does not get out of hand and does not escalate beyond the borders of Ukraine”, - Jens Stoltenberg added.

The NATO Secretary-General also stressed that increasing the presence of Alliance troops on the eastern flank is a deterrent: “This is a very clear signal to Moscow that an attack on an ally will trigger a backlash from the entire alliance”.