Putin is unhappy with Ukraine's progress - Rutte
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not particularly pleased” with Ukraine’s recent successes on the front lines. According to him, Ukrainian defense forces are operating effectively and are even regaining some territory, which is creating additional difficulties for Russia.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte made this statement at a press conference following a meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers in Helsingborg.
“It is clear that Ukraine is defending itself strongly. And if you look at the front line now, it is stabilizing. There are reports that Ukraine is regaining territory. Not on a massive scale, but at least the situation is stabilizing, and potentially the front line is even moving in the right direction—that is, from west to east, rather than the other way around,” Rutte said.
He once again praised Ukraine for its “incredible ingenuity” in terms of its capacity for innovation.
“This is one of the things we are learning from Ukraine, for example, when it comes to drone warfare and counter-drone technology. That is why we have the JATEC center in Poland, where we document all the lessons of the war to incorporate them into NATO’s plans,” the Secretary General noted.
“I wouldn’t be too happy if I were Putin today. In fact, I would never be happy if I were Putin, but especially not in the last few weeks, because things aren’t going in the right direction for him.”
Rubio and Rutte discussed preparations for the NATO summit in Turkey and the strengthening of defenseproduction.
At the NATO summit in Ankara on May 22, they plan to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s “disappointment” with the Alliance. This was stated by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, noting that this issue will be one of the topics on the meeting’s agenda.
And Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that the NATO leaders’ summit, to be held in Ankara on July 7–8, will be one of the key events for the future of the Alliance and the entire international security system.
