The Kremlin's stern message took the shine off the western military alliance's 75th anniversary gathering.
NATO marked 75 years of collective defence across Europe and North America, with its top diplomats vowing to stay the course in Ukraine as better-armed Russian troops assert control on the battlefield.
Putin said he launched the war in February 2022, in part at least, because NATO was expanding closer to Russia's borders. Then Finland and Sweden joined in record time to shelter under NATO's collective security guarantee. "I didn't want to spoil the birthday party for NATO, but I felt compelled to deliver a sobering message on behalf of Ukrainians about the state of Russian air attacks on my country, destroying our energy system, our economy, killing civilians," said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who attended a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council.A Kremlin spokesperson said Russia is now in direct confrontation with NATO.
But, Blinken also acknowledged alliance unease over fears that the US commitment to both Ukraine and NATO might flag, particularly should former president Donald Trump retake the White House in November's election.Biden and Netanyahu speak for the first time since Israeli strike killed aid workers in Gaza
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