Stoltenberg on support for Ukraine after 2014: We could have helped Ukrainians defend more effectively or prevented Russia’s invasion altogether
In 2014, after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, most allies opposed providing military aid to Ukraine, fearing it might provoke Russia. Yet supplying weapons, including lethal arms, could have prevented Russia’s invasion.
As reported by Censor.NET, citing Ukrinform, former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this at the Warsaw Security Forum.
"When I came to NATO in 2014, most allies were against providing military assistance to Ukraine because they feared it could provoke Russia. So we effectively did not provide significant support. And Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022," Stoltenberg said.
He noted that bolder action could have helped Ukraine defend itself more effectively and limited the occupation or even prevented the invasion altogether.
"Had we done more—trained Ukrainians more and supplied far more weapons, including lethal weapons—at least from the period after the illegal annexation in 2014 up to 2022, we could have helped Ukrainians defend themselves much more effectively so that Russia would hold less of their territory today, or prevented the invasion entirely, because the calculations in Moscow would have been very different," the former NATO chief said.
Stoltenberg stressed that Ukrainians fought back even with limited support and, with greater NATO backing, could have deterred the aggression.
"When we saw Crimea in 2014 and then the full-scale invasion, we should really have started investing more in our own defense and defense industry. If there is a lesson, it is that this needed to happen much earlier," he added.
Stoltenberg also welcomed the strengthened support for the Ukrainian people and emphasized the need to prevent a Russian victory.
