' fill='%230E4F97'%3E%3Cg id='Group-5' transform='translate(370.000000, 11.000000)'%3E%3Cg id='avatar' transform='translate(6.000000, 4.000000)'%3E%3Ccircle id='Oval' cx='8' cy='4' r='4'%3E%3C/circle%3E%3Cpath d='M7.12864205,10 L8.87135795,10 C11.558649,10 14.0087196,11.5384024 15.1762205,13.958831 L16,15.6666667 L16,15.6666667 L15.3374858,17.5134983 C15.228016,17.8186575 14.9774027,18.051811 14.6651459,18.1389975 L8,20 L8,20 L1.33485405,18.1389975 C1.02259733,18.051811 0.771984007,17.8186575 0.662514216,17.5134983 L0,15.6666667 L0,15.6666667 L0.823779545,13.958831 C1.99128041,11.5384024 4.44135104,10 7.12864205,10 Z' id='Rectangle'%3E%3C/path%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Putin made ‘big mistake’ invading Ukraine, NATO chief says
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses media representatives as he arrives ahead of an extraordinary NATO summit at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on March 24, 2022. (Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
BRUSSELS — NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of making a “big mistake” by invading Ukraine, as leaders gather to discuss overhauling the alliance’s eastern defenses.
“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 says ahead of the start of the summit in Brussels.
Stoltenberg says the leaders of the US-led military alliance would “address the need for a reset of our deterrence and defense in the longer term,” starting with agreeing on new deployments to eastern members Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.
