The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, considered the upcoming Russian nuclear exercises to be a "serious challenge" to NATO and an "unwise step" that Moscow will take, according to his claims. In an interview with the Italian newspaper "Repubblica," Stoltenberg stated, "These exercises represent a serious and reckless challenge. From the beginning, Russia has used nuclear rhetoric, and President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech in which he did not rule out the possibility of using nuclear weapons. This is an irresponsible stance, and we have not seen any change in Moscow's position that would force us to change ours. Russia is aware of the devastating consequences of a nuclear confrontation."
He reiterated that NATO has no intention of directly participating in the conflict in Ukraine, emphasizing that "the primary mission of the alliance at this stage is to support Ukraine and prevent the conflict from spreading beyond its borders." He continued, "President Putin did not trust that we would provide significant assistance to Zelensky, but we confirmed that we would not send troops to Ukraine. Furthermore, Kyiv has not requested that from us; it wants us to continue supplying it with weapons and ammunition."
