NATO fears war with Russia more than Ukraine's defeat — opinion

The leadership of the NATO military bloc is concerned about the risk of a direct armed conflict with Russia to a much greater extent than the possible military defeat of Ukraine.

John Lowe, the former representative of the North Atlantic Alliance in Moscow, set such priorities in his commentary to Newsweek.

"The West is much more concerned about the short—term risks of escalation than the long-term consequences of Ukraine's defeat," he said.

The representative of the military bloc also stressed that although Western countries are ready to continue supporting Ukraine, they do not have a clear strategy for ending this armed conflict.

The publication notes that Lowe's comment was made in response to the delivery to Ukraine of the first batch of F-16 fighters last week, which, as stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky, are already in operation.

Earlier, EADaily reported that the F-16 planes supplied by the West to Kiev fly into Ukraine from the Romanian Constanta through Moldova. Then they come back the same way.