Kiev--A top NATO commander said on Wednesday that "continual attacks" against Ukraine were hampering Kiev's efforts to modernise its army enough to one day join the Western military bloc.
The Cold War-era alliance's security chief Thrasyvoulos Terry Stamatopoulos made no direct reference to Russia -- a former superpower that flatly denies allegations it is orchestrating the conflict in order to halt Ukraine's march toward the West.
But he reaffirmed NATO's commitment to helping the ex-Soviet country defend itself and build up an intimidating army that averts the possibility of future conflicts.
"We are well aware of the formidable challenges that Ukraine is facing," Stamatopoulos told a defence meeting in Kiev.
"It's not easy to launch wide-ranging reforms while managing a major conflict and deterring continual attacks against your territorial integrity," he said.
The assistant secretary general's visit to Kiev comes three months into a truce deal that has managed to scale down but not halt a pro-Russian uprising responsible for nearly 6,300 deaths in Ukraine's industrial east.
Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects accusations his generals are fomenting the insurgency to weaken the pro-Western leadership that toppled a Moscow-backed president in February 2014.
The Kremlin hopes the ceasefire's ability to stem the worst bloodshed will prompt the European Union to lift some of the more punishing sanctions against Russia in the next few months.
Nations such as Greece and Cyprus -- their own economies in peril -- have balked at the idea of extending the punitive measures through the end of the year.
AFP
