NATO threatens ‘historical war’ against Putin as Russia invades Ukraine

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has threatened a historical war against Russian President Vladimir Putin in the wake of the Kremlin’s military invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement quoted by Sky News, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General said peace in Europe has been shattered adding that a war that belonged to the past could be building up.

“We now have war in Europe on a scale and of a type, we thought belonged to history,” Stoltenberg was quoted to have said at a press conference Thursday.

Describing the invasion as a “grave moment for the security of Europe”, he said the action by Kremlin has shattered peace in the European continent.

On Thursday, Mr Putin announced a so-called special military in Ukraine. Sky News reports that explosions were heard in major Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Kharviv, and Odessa after Putin’s remarks.

Russian forces have encroached the borders of at least four regions of Ukraine.

Stoltenberg, the Secretary-General of the intergovernmental military alliance between 28 European countries and 2 North American countries, said Russia was “putting countless innocent lives at risk” describing the event as a cold invasion.

“This is a deliberate, cold-blooded and long-planned invasion,” he said. 

The Kremlin’s intentions are “clear for the world to see”, he said, calling on Russia to withdraw its invasion. 

Mr Stoltenberg said an attack on one NATO ally would trigger a response from the alliance. 

Reiterating a statement from NATO earlier, he said more troops would be sent to the eastern flank. 

There are still no plans to send NATO troops into Ukraine itself, he said.

Ukrainian MP speaks

In a statement, Ukrainian MP Oleksii Goncharenko described Putin as “the Hitler of the 21st century” and warned he will not stop after his invasion of Ukraine.

Goncharenko told Sky News: “Putin is the Hitler of the 21st century. In the middle of Europe in the 21st century, just a war of killings, civilians killed, bombing, rocket attacks, missile attacks.