Stoltenberg: I Am Confident Ukraine Will Be Successful

In an interview with RFE/RL and Current Time, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said it is up to Kyiv to decide when is the right time to launch a counteroffensive against the invading Russian Army. He added, however, that based on how much Ukrainian forces have managed to date with limited resources and given NATO’s current level of assistance, he is sure “Ukraine will be successful.” Stoltenberg spoke shortly after a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a platform of countries supporting Ukraine as it faces the ongoing Russian invasion, held at the Ramstein air base in Germany on April 21. He reiterated the statement he made a day earlier in Kyiv that NATO has decided Ukraine will become a member of the alliance but it first must prevail against Russia. The remark drew ire from Moscow, with presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov commenting that the Kremlin knew all along that NATO was out there to “devour” Ukraine and hence Russia's decision to invade it has proved right.