Putin went to war for 'less NATO,' military alliance chief says — and that's backfired

Russia's warfare successful Ukraine has helped enlarge, alternatively than rein successful the enlargement of the NATO subject alliance, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday, a time aft Turkey endorsed Sweden's rank bid.

Prior to his full-fledged penetration of Ukraine past year, Russian President Vladimir Putin cited expected nationalist information risks resulting from Kyiv's ambitions to articulation NATO.

"[Putin] went to warfare due to the fact that helium wanted little NATO. He's getting much NATO," Stoltenberg told reporters connected Tuesday astatine the commencement of the NATO acme successful Vilnius, Lithuania. "Moscow, President Putin, does not person a veto connected NATO enlargement."

Stoltenberg's comments travel aft Turkey connected Monday agreed to backmost Sweden's accession bid into the NATO alliance, aft withholding its endorsement for implicit a year. Ankara's diplomatically analyzable objections centered chiefly connected Sweden's enactment for Kurdish groups that Turkey designates arsenic terrorist.

Stockholm and Helsinki abandoned their humanities struggle neutrality and submitted their applications to join NATO successful May 2022, successful the aftermath of Russia's penetration of Ukraine. Finland became the 31st subordinate of the confederation in April this year and has participated successful its archetypal drill exercises with the conjugation since.

Ukraine has been pushing to beforehand its ain NATO membership, but confederation officials person repeatedly said its accession is improbable portion warfare is inactive being waged connected its territories. Kyiv's bid to participate the European Union has likewise stalled, arsenic Ukraine pushes guardant with judicial and anti-corruption reforms.

Still, Stoltenberg connected Tuesday noted that Kyiv has made important advancement successful deepening its relations with NATO since the April 2008 acme successful Bucharest wherever it was agreed that Ukraine and Georgia would articulation the alliance.

"Ukraine has travel a agelong mode since we made that determination successful 2008 that the adjacent measurement volition beryllium a rank enactment plan," helium said. "Ukraine is overmuch person to NATO, truthful I deliberation the clip has travel to bespeak that successful besides the NATO decisions."

Stoltenberg besides stressed that "NATO allies volition nonstop a strong, affirmative connection connected the way guardant for Ukraine" successful its communique aboriginal successful the day.

Questions linger implicit the information guarantees that NATO tin connection Ukraine and the grade to which these commitments tin past a imaginable enactment alteration successful the U.S., which is acceptable to clasp elections successful November 2024.

The protracted accession advancement is wearing bladed for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however.

"Unprecedented and absurd – erstwhile determination is nary clip framework for some the invitation (!) and Ukraine's membership; and erstwhile alternatively immoderate unusual wording is added astir the "conditions" adjacent for inviting Ukraine," helium wrote connected Telegram connected Tuesday, according to a Google translation.

"It looks similar determination is nary readiness either to invitation Ukraine to NATO oregon to marque it a subordinate of the Alliance," helium added. "And for Russia, this means information to proceed its terror."

Stoltenberg has confirmed that Zelenskyy volition beryllium attending the NATO summit.

In Google-translated comments carried by Russian authorities quality bureau Tass connected Telegram, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov connected Tuesday warned that Ukraine's imaginable rank of NATO is "very unsafe for European security," adding that Sweden's introduction into the confederation volition person "negative consequences."

Russia volition intimately show the NATO acme to instrumentality steps to guarantee its ain security, Peskov said.

Russia powerfully opposes NATO enlargement and regularly cites concerns implicit the dispersed of Western power adjacent to its borders.

Kyiv officially wrested its independency from the Soviet Union successful August 1991, but Putin maintains Russians and Ukrainians are "one people" — a assertion that is rejected by galore successful Ukraine. Moscow seized the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine successful 2014 and past September illegally annexed 4 different Ukrainian oblasts: Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia.

The Russian penetration has spurred NATO to strengthen, alternatively than retreat its beingness successful Eastern Europe.

"NATO has accrued its subject beingness successful the eastbound portion of the Alliance arsenic a nonstop effect of Russia's behaviour, which reflects a signifier of assertive actions against its neighbours and the wider transatlantic community," the confederation said past month.