Russia is not at war with NATO, hence it cannot be concluded that Russia defeated NATO. NATO condemns Russia’s brutal and unprovoked military aggression in Ukraine, which is an independent and democratic country and a close NATO partner. NATO is not sending weapons directly to Ukraine, but that is done by the member-states individually and that is stated on the official website of the Alliance and has been pointed out by the Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, writes Truthmeter.mk.
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A post on Facebook (screenshot here) claims that Russia defeated NATO in the war in Ukraine. This claim is not true.
The citizens of the West believe that Ukraine is defeating Russia, while the rest of the world is witnessing how Russia is defeating NATO, states the post we are fact-checking.
It is not true that Russia defeated NATO in the war in Ukraine. Firstly, Russia has won no victory since it’s still carrying out aggression in Ukraine, while Ukraine is still resisting and fighting for its territory. Secondly, Russia has, by no means, defeated NATO for the simple reason that NATO is not at war, i.e., NATO is not at war with Russia. It is not the first time for Russian supporters to spread such Kremlin propaganda claiming that the Russians are at war with NATO.
NATO is not at war with Russia, but Russia carried out a military invasion in Ukraine and killed a large number of civilians and soldiers on Ukrainian territory.
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched missile strikes at locations throughout Ukraine, including the capital city of Kyiv. Russian ground forces entered Ukrainian territory, and Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by imposing martial law, terminating diplomatic relations with Russia, and declaring general mobilization. This invasion is the largest military attack in Europe since World War II and has been the subject of widespread international condemnation and the introduction of sanctions against Russia.
Russia attacked Ukraine and Ukraine has the right to defend itself. NATO condemned Russian brutal and unprovoked military aggression in Ukraine – an independent and democratic country and a close NATO partner. NATO and its allies continue to support Ukraine and its indisputable right to self-defense.
NATO helps coordinate Ukrainian aid requirements and supports Allies in delivering humanitarian aid. As security guarantee, Article 5 provides for collective defense and enables the Alliance to send weapons to Ukraine without jeopardizing its security. Furthermore, the well-established framework for common standards and interoperable systems allows the Alliance to deliver equipment with the assurance that the deliveries to Ukraine can be supplemented by compatible equipment from other Allies. Individual NATO member states are sending arms, ammunition and many types of light and heavy military equipment including anti-tank and air defense systems, drones and tanks, states NATO’s website.
NATO is not sending directly weapons to Ukraine, but the member states are doing that individually. That is stated on the official website of the Alliance, and the Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg has also pointed that out.
Individual NATO member states are sending weapons, ammunition and many types of light and heavy military equipment, including anti-tank and air defense systems, howitzers drones and tanks. Up to date, NATO Allies have secured military equipment for Ukraine worth billions of Euros. Allied forces are also training Ukrainian soldiers to use this equipment. Everyday, all this is making a difference on the battlefield by helping Ukraine uphold its right to self-defence which is enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, states NATO’s website in the section explaining what NATO and the Allies are doing to help Ukraine.
After the extraordinary meeting between NATO Foreign Ministers and the Chief of Ukrainian diplomacy (in April last year), Stoltenberg pointed out that NATO was not sending weapons directly and that it was not planning to get involved in the war.
Our task is to prevent escalation. NATO will not be directly involved, and it is not sending capacities directly but secures support in other ways, said the head of the Alliance then.
That said, the weapons are sent by the Member-States and according to Stoltenberg, they cannot be identified as offensive as it is used for defensive purposes bearing in mind the fact that Ukraine was the attacked party, and its right to self-defense is enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
According to the data published by Al Jazeera citing Kiel Institute for the World Economy – a German think-tank – the Western Allies have committed at least 75.2 billion Euros (80.5 billion Dollars) in financial, humanitarian and military aid in the period between 24th January and 20th November 2022.
With 47.8 billion Euros (51.2 billion Dollars) in commitments, the USA is Ukraine’s biggest contributor with at least 22.9 billion Euros (24.5 billion Dollars) going towards military pledges, 15.05 billion Euros (16.1 billion Dollars) in financial aid and 9.9 billion Euros (10.6 billion Dollars) in humanitarian assistance.
Otherwise, 80.5 billion Dollars, which is the value of the aid of the Western Allies sent to Ukraine in 2022, is only 0.19 percent of the combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the USA and the EU (42.1 thousand billion Dollars). Despite this small amount of aid, Ukraine manages to hold the penetration of the Russian Forces and even performed a counter-offensive. One can only imagine what would happen if the Western Allies gave aid equal to 3 percent of their GDP, for example, or 1 thousand and 263 billion Dollars. Quite certainly, if NATO was at war with Russia, it would not allocate less than 0.2 percent of GDP for a such war.
The military aid, in its current form, includes arms, equipment, and financial aid for the Ukrainian Army. Humanitarian aid includes medical, food, and other supplies for civilians, while financial assistance comes in the form of grants, loans, and guarantees.
Therefore, the conclusion is that Russia is not at war with NATO, hence Russia cannot have defeated NATO. NATO condemns Russia’s brutal and unprovoked military aggression in Ukraine – an independent and democratic country and close NATO partner. NATO is not sending weapons to Ukraine directly, but member states are doing that individually, states the official website of the Alliance, as pointed out by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. For that reason, we assess the fact-checked post as not true.
