NATO agrees there should be no alliance soldiers and aircraft in Ukraine

Stoltenberg says NATO agrees there should be no alliance soldiers and aircraft in Ukraine

According to him, NATO is responsible for preventing escalation and moving hostilities outside Ukraine

BRUSSELS, March 4. /TASS/. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) believes that there should be no NATO aircraft in the sky over Ukraine and no alliance soldiers on its territory, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Brussels on Friday.

"We have made it clear that we are not going to move into Ukraine, neither on the ground, nor in Ukrainian airspace," Stoltenberg said. "Allies agree we should not have NATO planes operating over Ukrainian airspace or NATO troops operating in Ukrainian territory," Secretary General said.

According to him, NATO is responsible for preventing escalation and moving hostilities outside Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 launched a special military operation in Ukraine following a request for assistance from the leaders of the Donbass republics. He said Moscow had no plans for an occupation of Ukrainian territories. The sole purpose is the country's demilitarization and denazification.

The Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.