Jens Stoltenberg

"Eight years ago, Russia illegally annexed Crimea, transforming it into one of the most militarized areas in Europe and using it as a launchpad for a full scale invasion of Ukraine six months ago."

"NATO is part of the U.S.-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group to mobilize support, and I actively engage with leaders to urge them to provide more weapons, and more ammunition, more quickly."

"We have all seen the atrocities that have been committed in Bucha and other places in Ukraine. This reveals the true nature of President Putins war, and the targeting and killing of civilians is a war crime and therefore, NATO allies are supporting the international efforts to establish all the facts, to investigate, and to make sure that perpetrators are punished. We are now in a critical phase of the war. We see that Russia is moving forces out of the north to reinforce them, to resupply them, to rearm them and then to move them into the east where we are expecting a major offensive. President Putins aim is to try to control the whole of Donbas and to establish a land bridge [...]. We have seen no indication that President Putin has changed his ambition to control the whole of Ukraine and also to rewrite the international order. So we need to be prepared for the long haul. We need to support Ukraine, sustain our sanctions, and strengthen our defences and our deterrence, because this can last for a long time and we need to be prepared for that."