Russian attacks in Ukrainian cities ‘a sign of weakness’: Jens Stoltenberg

Russian President Vladimir Putin is 'failing in Ukraine' amid reports Moscow bombed civilian cities earlier in the day and on Monday, Jens Stoltenberg says.

Moscow’s recent attacks in Ukrainian cities are a “sign of weakness” as Kyiv continues to claw away at Russian-held territory, NATO’s secretary general says.

Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at a news conference Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “failing in Ukraine” amid reports Moscow bombed civilian cities earlier in the day and on Monday.

“What we saw yesterday is actually a sign of weakness because the reality is that they’re not able to make progress on the battlefield. Russia is actually losing on the battlefield. They’re giving up territory because they don’t have the capabilities to stop the Ukrainian forces making advances,” he said.

“The way they are able to respond is by indiscriminate attacks on Ukrainian cities, hitting civilians, critical infrastructure and of course, this causes suffering and damage on Ukraine, but in many ways reflects the lack of alternatives for President Putin. They are losing ground, they have lost the momentum and they have to revert to missile strikes and air strikes in a way we saw yesterday and actually today.”

Stoltenberg’s comments come after a series of Russian missile strikes in Ukrainian cities this week, the latest being Tuesday in Zaporizhzhia.

Missiles struck a school, a medical facility and residential buildings in the city, local officials said. At least one person was killed. On Monday, 19 people died and 105 people were wounded in missile attacks that targeted critical infrastructure facilities in Kyiv and 12 other regions. More than 300 cities and towns were without power, from the Ukrainian capital all the way to Lviv on the border with Poland.

Many of the attacks occurred far from the war’s front lines where Ukraine has made significant gains in an ongoing counteroffensive. Kyiv has retaken some Russian-occupied towns, and Putin has responded by ordering a partial mobilization and illegally annexing four regions in what has been seen as an escalation in the seven-month-long war.

Putin’s decisions show the war is “not going as planned,” Stoltenberg said.