NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberghas assured that the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, tries to use winter as a weapon in the context of the recent wave of Russian attacks that even caused a “massive blackout” in neighboring Moldova.
“Putin reacts to defeats with more brutality”, the NATO chief said in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, noting that since the temperatures began to drop, Moscow began to bomb Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“Putin is trying to use winter as a weapon. But he will not succeed, ”he asserted.
As he reviewed, the Western allies seek to guarantee the delivery of weapons and generators to supply energy, as well as winter equipment for soldiers and medical supplies.
The leader of the Atlantic alliance recognized the costs of maintaining support for Ukraine, but considered that they are necessary. “Rising food and energy bills spell hard times for many households in Europe. But we must remember that the people of Ukraine pay with their blood every day”, he specified, adding that Moscow “will not succeed” in succeeding.
Stoltenberg once again recalled “how dangerous” it is for the population to “depend on Russia for gas.”
“Now we have to assess our dependence on authoritarian regimes, especially China.”, he indicated to the German newspaper.
These statements come before the NATO foreign ministers meet on November 29 and 30 in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, to discuss the war in Ukraine, the Alliance’s support for kyiv, as well as the role of China in the framework of the socio-political challenges facing the future.
NATO foreign ministers are scheduled to meet with their Ukrainian counterpart, Dimitro Kuleba, to discuss and call for more military and non-lethal aid within the Atlantic Alliance’s comprehensive assistance package.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said that “more than six million homes” were still affected by power outages, two days after a massive Russian bombardment of the country’s energy infrastructure.
“Tonight, there are blackouts in most regions [de Ucrania] and in kyiv”, the capital, indicated the president in his daily report on social networks.
Zelensky denounced the strategy of destroying infrastructure at a time when temperatures drop due to the arrival of winter as a “crime against humanity” and his Western allies defined it as “war crimes.”
“We have to endure this winter, a winter that everyone will rememberZelensky said.
Russia assures that it only targets military infrastructures and accuses the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense of the blackouts.
After the shelling on Wednesday, Ukrainian engineers continue to repair the damage. “A third of kyiv’s homes are already heated,” said the capital’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko. Meanwhile, “half of the users are still without power,” he added.
Albina Bilogub, a neighbor who was left without gas or heating, explained that her children were sleeping together in the same room to stay warm. “This is our life. A sweater, another sweater and another one. This is how we live now,” she recounted.
The chairman of the board of directors of the national electricity operator, Ukrenergo, Volodimir Kudriski, considered that the Ukrainian energy system had “passed the most difficult moment” after the attack.
Electricity was partially restored and “the energy system is reconnected” to that of the European Union, he reported.
(With information from Europa Press and AFP)
Keep reading:
