Ukraine 'closer to NATO than ever before' as UK says Putin navy in Black Sea retreat
Ukraine is now "closer to NATO than ever before,” the military alliance's chief said on November 29 as Britain claimed Putin's navy has been pushed back across the Black Sea. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also stressed that Russia has amassed a large missile stockpile ahead of winter and had unleashed a wave of drone and missile strikes on Ukraine's power grid and energy infrastructure to try to leave it "in the dark and cold" in coming months.
He said: “Two weeks ago, I was in Ukraine saying we needed to do everything that we could to help the Ukrainians repel this appalling aggression by Putin. And I’ll be building consensus for that view here at NATO today.
“When you look at the big picture, what’s happened recently is the Ukrainians have pushed the Russian Navy right back across the Black Sea, they opened a shipping lane to get their exports out, their economy is growing. And of course, they’re knocking on the door of both NATO and the EU and getting a very warm response.
NATO remains four-square behind Ukraine in its war against Russia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, denying the crisis in Gaza is distracting the Western alliance.