BRUSELAS, 5 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, has transferred this Wednesday to the Ukrainian President, Volodimir Zelenski, his congratulations for the progress of the Ukrainian Army in its campaign to recover territories in the east and south of the country, despite the annexation announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I have congratulated the courage of the Ukrainian people and forces in their impressive progress in recovering their territory from the Russian aggressor,” said the former Norwegian prime minister in a message on social networks after having a conversation with the Ukrainian leader.

In this sense, Stoltenberg has stressed that Moscow must stop the war that began against the neighboring country last February and has withdrawn that NATO “will sustain and increase its support for Ukraine, as long as necessary.”

Despite Putin’s announcement of the annexation of the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, on the ground the Russian troops have registered a withdrawal before the thrust of the Ukrainian forces. For its part, the Kremlin has stated that Russia will recover the “temporarily abandoned” territories in the newly annexed regions.