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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday said of the current build-up of troops at the Ukrainian border that it appeared “Russia is preparing for an invasion of Ukraine” and stressed that while it is not too late for Moscow to change course against an armed attack, there is a “new normal in European security.”
Stoltenberg’s remarks come as President Biden has called an urgent meeting of his National Security Council Sunday.
“Last week, actually, Russia said that they will step back. Russia is stepping up with more troops and higher and even closer to the Ukrainian border,” Stoltenberg, speaking from Brussels, told CBS’ “Face The Nation” host Margaret Brennan. “Also, the fact that this exercise, they said, should end today will now continue. So, all of this fits into the picture that Russia is preparing for an invasion of Ukraine.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin personally oversaw some strategic nuclear exercises Saturday, something Stoltenberg saw as a way for Moscow to demonstrate their capabilities.
Though it was a “regular exercise,” it was planned for last fall but instead took place “in the midst of this significant Russian military build-up in and around Ukraine with the largest concentration of combat troops I’ve seen in Europe since the end of the Cold War,” Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg asserted there “has been a crisis in the making for a long time,” as NATO has been working to gradually increase its presence in the eastern flank since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. With Russia and Belarus stating its troops will remain in the north of Ukraine, Stoltenberg said NATO has made additional reinforcements in recent weeks and months.
“I think what we are now faced with is a new normal in European security. We see Russia being willing to contest fundamental values for our security by the use of force and…
Source : foxnews
