« It is Ukraine’s decision how to defend itself, » Jens Stoltenberg told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is a legitimate act of self-defense, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said.
In his first reaction to Ukraine’s push into Russian territory, that started on August 6 and appeared to take both Vladimir Putin and Kyiv’s allies by surprise, Stoltenberg told German weekly Welt am Sonntag that Kyiv « has a right to defend itself. »
Under international law, that right « does not stop at the border », said Stoltenberg, who added that NATO did not know in advance about Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky’s plans.
« Ukraine did not coordinate its planning for the Kursk offensive with NATO beforehand », he said, according to a translation. « In this respect, NATO played no role in this. »
The incursion was discussed at a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine-Council on Wednesday that was requested by Kyiv following one of the biggest wave of air attacks by Russia since Putin launched his full-scale invasion.
Stoltenberg said that Zelensky had clarified the bold operation « aims to create a buffer zone to prevent further Russian attacks from across the border », and that « like all military operations, this comes with risks.
