Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy is to address NATO leaders gathered in Brussels on March 24 on the one-month anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine as fighting rages in the besieged city of Mariupol and other flash points across the country.
U.S. President Joe Biden is due to attend both the NATO and European Union summits, as well as a gathering of the Group of Seven industrialized nations scheduled to map out the next steps in efforts to stop Russia’s assault on Ukraine. The White House said Biden will use the occasion to announce more sanctions against Moscow.
Speaking ahead of the summit, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin made a “big mistake” with his invasion of Ukraine. He said leaders at the meeting will discuss “the need for a reset of our deterrence and defense in the longer term.”
“President Putin has made a big mistake and that is to launch a war against an independent sovereign nation. He has underestimated the strength of the Ukrainian people, the bravery of the Ukrainian people and their armed forces,” Stoltenberg said.
He also said any use of chemical weapons would “fundamentally change” the nature of the conflict, as it would be a “blatant” violation of international law that will have “widespread and severe consequences.”
“The seriousness of using chemical weapons, of course, becomes even more obvious knowing that there is a risk always for contamination…. We can see the spread of chemical agents also into NATO territory,” he said.