The Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has issued a warning to the United States and its allies, urging them not to underestimate Russia in the ongoing war against Ukraine.
Stoltenberg issued this warning on Thursday at a business conference, in Oslo, the capital of Norway, Africa Today News, New York gathered.
He pointed out that it would be dangerous to underestimate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions amid the war in Ukraine.
‘They have shown a great willingness to tolerate losses and suffering,’ Stoltenberg said.
‘We have no indication that President Putin has changed his plans and goals in Ukraine. So it’s dangerous to underestimate Russia.’
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Africa Today News, New York recalls that Russia had invaded Ukraine on February 24, as Putin said his country sought the ‘demilitarisation and denazification’ of Ukraine.
Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons which could jeopardise the peace and safety of the world if the West aids Ukraine in the war.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) verified a total of 6,919 civilian deaths since the war began.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday evening ordered a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to run during Orthodox Christmas, a move quickly dismissed by war-battered Kyiv and its allies.
‘Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the defence minister of the Russian Federation to introduce… a ceasefire along the entire line of contact between the sides in Ukraine,’ said a Kremlin statement.
It will run from 12:00 (09:00 GMT) January 6, until 24:00 (21:00 GMT) on January 7, the Kremlin said.