Rutte says Russian attacks show Kremlin is not serious about peace

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said during his address to the Verkhovna Rada that, despite diplomatic efforts by the United States and Ukraine to end the war, Russia continues to carry out attacks on Ukrainian cities, demonstrating that the Kremlin is not serious about pursuing peace.

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, Rutte made the statement during a parliament session on Tuesday.

Rutte noted that U.S. President Donald Trump and his team are trying to stop the bloodshed and that Ukraine is ready to support these efforts in good faith. He said that important progress had been made in this area, but stressed that Russia had continued its attacks, including the latest strike overnight, which, in his opinion, shows that Moscow is not genuinely committed to peace.

In this context, he recalled that Russia had already suffered more than one million casualties in the war it had launched. According to Rutte, despite Russian leader Vladimir Putin's readiness to continue making such sacrifices, any gains on the battlefield are coming at a very high cost for Russian forces.

Rutte added that China, North Korea, and Iran continue to support Russia, but said that the Russian economy is nevertheless suffering and that increased pressure on Russia's shadow fleet is also having an impact. He stressed that NATO would continue to exert pressure on Russia and to support Ukraine.

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