Nato does not plan to send troops to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia's ongoing invasion, the defence alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.
Stoltenberg made the comments at a joint press conference alongside Finnish President Alexander Stubb in Helsinki on the second day of a two-day visit to Finland.
"Nato has no plans to deploy forces to Ukraine. We are focusing on how we can establish a stronger...institutionalised framework for our support to Ukraine and how to establish and agree a long-term financial commitment to ensure that we stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes," Stoltenberg said.
Stubb echoed similar sentiments.
"Finland has no plans to deploy troops in Ukraine. We're in conversation, of course, with our allies about various options in which we can help Ukraine, whether financial, military, or ammunition-based. But we haven't changed that," Stubb said.
"We will keep our line and we'll continue our steadfast support on the basis of the security agreement that we signed with Ukraine on 7 April, together with our Nordic partners, and then, of course, together with our allies. I think it's very important that when we are part of the alliance, we work as an alliance and not in separate blocs," the Finnish president continued. Stoltenberg said the interruption of Western defence aid to Ukraine should not be repeated.
"Over the last months, we have seen some gaps, some delays in the provision of military support to Ukraine. We need to ensure that that doesn't happen again," he said.
The Nato chief said the alliance was determined to end the war in Ukraine. "The stronger our long-term commitment is for Ukraine, the sooner the war can end, because then Moscow will understand. They cannot wait us out," he said.
