NATO chief urges US lawmakers to continue supporting Ukraine

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on January 28 encouraged U.S. lawmakers to continue funding Ukraine in its war against Russia, warning that Beijing and other authoritarian powers will be emboldened should Russian President Vladimir Putin succeed.

Stoltenberg appeared on "Fox News Sunday" and warned that Beijing is closely watching the allies’ response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

"What matters is that Ukraine gets continued support because we need to realize that this is closely watched in Beijing," he said.

He argued that the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world will be made more vulnerable if Putin "gets what he wants in Ukraine."

"It is important that Putin doesn’t get his way in Ukraine," the NATO chief said. "That will embolden other authoritarian powers. Today it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it might be Taiwan."

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and believes it must be reunified with the mainland.

Stoltenberg is meeting with top U.S. defence officials and lawmakers this week to discuss the continued funding to Ukraine, which is being tied up in Congress over a dispute on U.S. border policies and other political issues.

Ukraine's aid remains a divisive issue, with critics flagging Ukraine's longtime struggles with corruption.

Five Ukrainian officials were arrested over the weekend for allegedly stealing nearly $40 million in funds meant to purchase military equipment for the war against Russia. Ukraine's security service said members of the defence ministry conspired with members of a Ukrainian arms firm to embezzle the funds, which were meant to purchase 100,000 mortar shells.