NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Monday that the feared new major Russian offensive in Ukraine, almost one year after Moscow launched the war, has already started.
"We see no sign whatsoever that (Russian) president (Vladimir) Putin is preparing for peace (...) What we see is president Putin and Russia still wanting to control Ukraine", he said. "We see how they are sending more troops, more weapons, more capabilities."
Russia is widely thought to be planning a major new offensive and Ukraine says it needs fighter jets and long-range missiles to counter this and to recapture lost territory.
Moreover, Stoltenberg said he expected issue of aircrafts to be discussed at the upcoming two-day meeting of NATO ministers of Defence starting Tuesday.
"There is now a discussion going on also on the question of aircrafts and I expect that also to be addressed tomorrow at the meeting in Brussels", he said, adding that supplying aircrafts to Ukraine whereas the country under attack by Russia needs urgent support on the ground.
Stoltenberg also stressed that NATO countries supplying fighter jets to Ukraine would not make NATO part of the conflict.
