Warns Russia Not To Attack Allied Vital Infrastructure, NATO Holds Nuclear Preparedness Exercises

JAKARTA - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) emphatically told Russia on Tuesday it would confront an attack on critical allied infrastructure with a "unified and unwavering response" from all members of the defense alliance.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said ahead of a two-day meeting of defense ministers of the Western alliance in Brussels they did not see any change in Russia's nuclear posture, but remained "on alert".

Stoltenberg described Russian missile attacks on civilians in Ukraine on Monday as a sign of weakness.

"Russia is actually losing on the battlefield," he told a news conference, saying it was responding to indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine's advances.

This view is shared by the US ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith.

"President Putin failed to fulfill his strategic goals on the ground and this has been a recurring theme for him personally since this war began," he told an online briefing.

NATO is set to hold an annual nuclear preparedness exercise titled 'Steadfast Noon' next week, in which NATO air forces practice using US nuclear bombs based in Europe on training flights, without direct weapons.

Canceling the drills because of the war in Ukraine would send "a very wrong signal", Stoltenberg said. Meanwhile, Russia has made a veiled threat of using nuclear weapons against Ukraine.

"This is an exercise to ensure that our nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure, and effective," he stressed.

NATO's military strength, he said, was the best way to prevent an escalation of tensions.

Stoltenberg also pledged to increase the protection of critical infrastructure in response to attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipeline, saying NATO had doubled its presence in the Baltic and North Sea to more than 30 ships supported by aircraft and undersea activities.

"A deliberate attack on critical allied infrastructure will be met with a unified and resolute response," Stoltenberg said.

However, it remains unclear who was behind the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline.