Mark Rutte (Photo: ERA/OLIVER HOSLET)

NATO is already responding to Russia's attacks on Ukraine, which continue even amid diplomatic efforts to end the full-scale war. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Global Europe Forum, organized by the parliamentary group Renew, in response to a question from a correspondent LIGA.net in Brussels.

The Secretary General was reminded that after a medium-range Oreshnik ballistic missile struck the Lviv region, the fire was visible from the Polish border. NATO territory is located a few kilometers from the impact site. Against this backdrop, Rutte was asked whether to expect a response if a Russian missile "mistakenly" hits a NATO member state.

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"Yes, we are also responding now, because it's already terrible. These Russian missiles are weapons of death and mass destruction, and we saw it recently when they were used against Lviv... Last night we again saw hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles fired at Ukraine," the Secretary General said.

He believes that Russia is trying to sow panic among the Ukrainian population with these attacks, which shows its brutality. However, NATO is committed to providing Ukraine with the necessary interceptors to shoot down the missiles.

"Work with your governments to look deeply into their stockpiles and find the necessary interceptors for Patriot systems, for NASAMS systems, for SAMP/T systems. Because Ukrainians need them urgently," Rutte emphasized.

He noted that this is why he supported the US idea of the PURL initiative.

  • Late in the evening of January 8 in Lviv were heard powerful explosions. Monitoring channels reported that the Russians had probably hit a gas storage facility in Stryi with an Oreshnik. The OVA reported that a critical infrastructure facility was hit, without disclosing details.
  • Russia officially recognized a new strike on Ukraine by the Oreshnik – allegedly in response to fictional the same "attack" on Putin's residence.
  • Lithuania calls a strike with a cynical spit in the face of all those who seek peace, and in the United States convicted and said it would be good if Russia backed up its words with actions.