Europe 1 with AFP 5:27 p.m., October 11, 2022

NATO's Secretary General explained on Tuesday that the Alliance has doubled its presence in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea after the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, "with more than 30 ships, maritime patrol aircraft and submarine capabilities. sailors".

He also considered that the bombardments of the Russian army in Ukraine are "a sign of weakness".

The large-scale bombardments carried out Monday by the Russian army in Ukraine are "a sign of weakness" of Moscow which is losing the battle on the ground, said Tuesday the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.

“Russia is increasingly resorting to horrific and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and critical infrastructure,” Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference.

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"What we saw yesterday (Monday) is a sign of weakness, because Russia is losing on the battlefield" and these bombardments "reflect President Vladimir Putin's lack of alternatives", he said. he adds.

Decisions expected Wednesday and Thursday

NATO is ready to face any attack against one of its members and the Alliance's Defense Ministers will take decisions during their meeting on Wednesday and Thursday "to increase our stocks of ammunition and equipment in order to strengthen our defense and be able to continue to deliver arms to Ukraine, because we must prepare for a "long war", he said.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov will attend the meeting of the US-led Ukraine Contact Group and the working dinner of NATO ministers, he said.

"It will be an opportunity to discuss Ukraine's armaments needs and to see to what extent the allies can provide them," said Jens Stoltenberg.

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Ukraine has an "urgent" need for anti-aircraft defense systems.

Germany and the United States have made announcements for the supply of such equipment and their ammunition and "I look forward to further deliveries", he said.

Critical infrastructure protection in question

Discussions will also focus on critical infrastructure protection.

“After the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, we doubled our presence in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea with over 30 ships, maritime patrol aircraft and submarine capabilities,” he announced.

Jens Stoltenberg once again warned Russia against the use of nuclear weapons.

"Russia knows that a nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought," he insisted.

"We are closely monitoring Russian nuclear forces. We have not seen any change in Russia's position. But we remain vigilant," he said.

NATO will conduct "next week" a long-planned deterrence exercise, "Steadfast Noon".

"This is routine training, which takes place every year and canceling it would be a bad signal" addressed to Russia, he argued.