Russia-Ukraine Crisis: NATO says 'we are prepared for the worst'

Ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation defence ministers' meeting, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the grouping will address critical challenges for European security, including Russia’s military build-up in and around Ukraine.  

In his brief remarks, Stoltenberg said, "Europe is in the midst of a critical security situation with the Russian military build-up in and around Ukraine. We are ready to engage in a dialogue with Russia to seek a diplomatic and political solution. However, we are also prepared for the worst."

NATO had on Tuesday stated that it saw grounds for cautious optimism after Moscow signalled that diplomacy should continue and decided to pull back some of its troops from the Ukrainian border.

Ahead of the defence ministers' meeting, Stoltenberg had said, "Russia has amassed a fighting force in and around Ukraine, unprecedented since the Cold War. Everything is ready for a new attack. However, Moscow can still back off from the brink, stop gearing up for war and work towards a peaceful solution."

He further said that NATO had "systematically exposed" Russia's actions, plans and disinformation.

While asserting that NATO will not compromise on its core principles, the NATO secretary-general said, "We have deployed more troops, planes, and ships to the eastern part of the alliance. We have increased the readiness of our NATO Response Force and boosted our battlegroups in the Baltic region."

"The Russian side has not yet shown any de-escalation. Over the last weeks and days we have seen the opposite. There is continued build-up with more troops, battlegroups, artillery, air defence missiles, high-end capabilities and multiple support elements that make it possible for Russia to move into Ukraine for full-fledged invasion or a more limited military incursion with hardly any warning time at all. That picture has not changed so far," he added.

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