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No plans of NATO combat presence in Ukraine — Stoltenberg

The United States and NATO’s military aid to Ukraine is "too late" but the delays has had its "consequences," NATO secretary general also said
The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP
The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
© Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP

WASHINGTON, April 21. /TASS/. NATO doesn’t plan to send combat units to Ukraine although some of NATO allies have military advisers there, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

"There are no plans for any NATO combat presence in Ukraine, but of course several NATO allies have men and women in uniform at their embassies giving advice," he said in an interview with MSNBC.

"I think we need to distinguish between people in uniform that may be present or are present and combat presence and the presence of combat forces. And we have no plans of presence of that kind. What we do in Ukraine is that we help them to defend themselves." He said, adding that NATO’s support "is not charity, it is an investment in our own security."

The United States and NATO’s military aid to Ukraine is "too late" but the delays has had its "consequences," Stoltenberg also said.

"It’s not too late but of course the delay has had real consequences <…> the Russians have much more ammunition," he said in an interview with MSNBC, commenting on the new aid package for Ukraine approved by the US House of Representatives. "We have seen that fewer Russian missiles and drones have been shot down simply because they lack air defense systems and also ammunition to air defense systems. But it’s not too late because the Ukrainians demonstrated an enormous skill in defending their country."