«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.
