Zelensky, at NATO headquarters, denounces Putin and Hamas as terrorists

BRUSSELS, Belgium

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise appearance at NATO headquarters on Wednesday, renewing his pleas for additional Western weapons and comparing Russian President Vladimir Putin to Hamas militants whose bloody attacks in Israel in recent days have spawned a new war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.

“Terrorists like Putin — or like Hamas — seek to hold to free and democratic nations as hostages, and they want power over those who seek freedom,” Zelensky said. “The terrorists will not change. They just must lose — and that means we must win.”

Zelensky, appearing in his trademark army colors and a black sweatshirt, spoke at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a gathering of dozens of nations organized by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. It marked Zelensky’s first visit to NATO headquarters since the invasion, though he has addressed the allies remotely from Kyiv before.

The Ukrainian president arrived at NATO’s steel-and-glass headquarters at the outset of the meeting, drawing a crowd of alliance officials as he greeted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg with a hug and took questions from reporters. Zelensky, who last year blasted Israel for declining to send weapons to Ukraine, likened the militants’ tactics to those of Russian soldiers and said that he was recommending that allies support the Israeli people.

“It was very important not to be alone. Very important,” Zelensky said, recalling the early days of Russia’s invasion on Wednesday. He added that the allies need to prevent the possibility of “aggressors even to think about that third world war” and initiating a new wave of aggression.

Stoltenberg drew no distinction between NATO’s priorities and Ukraine’s in countering Russia.

“Your fight is our fight. Your security is our security. And your values are our values,” he said. “We will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

The comments came a day after Zelensky said in an interview that there is a risk that the new war in Israel could distract global attention from Russia’s war against Ukraine. While foreign military support continues to flow, Ukrainian officials and NATO allies have raised concern about Republican lawmakers in Washington seeking to stifle additional aid packages.

Austin, speaking at the outset of the meeting, said that as winter arrives, the allies must rush to meet Ukraine’s most urgent needs, especially air-defense capabilities and ammunition, while also considering what Kyiv needs long-term. He announced another $200 million in U.S. security assistance, including air-defense missiles, artillery rounds, antitank missiles, and equipment to clear mines and counter Russian drone attacks.

“We should be ready for the Kremlin to again bombard Ukraine this winter with cruise missiles and drones,” Austin said. “And we should expect Putin’s forces to cruelly and deliberately put Ukraine’s cities, civilians, and critical infrastructure in their gunsights.”

In recent weeks, NATO diplomats and officials have voiced concern about Ukrainian readiness for an expected Russian assault on energy and other critical infrastructure. Britain also announced on Wednesday additional military support aimed at helping Ukraine defend critical infrastructure and clear minefields, among other things.

“This winter, Russia will seek to undermine the morale of the Ukrainian people and divide the international community, but in both cases Putin underestimates the strength and resilience of his opposition,” British Adm. Sir Tony Radakin, chief of the defense staff, said in a statement. “If we stick together, and stay the course, then Russia will continue to lose, Ukraine will prevail and the rules that matter to global security will endure.”

On Thursday, NATO defense ministers will look at the longer term in a separate meeting, pushing ahead with plans announced at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.

The war in Israel and Gaza is likely to be discussed as well, diplomats said. In a briefing ahead of the meeting, Julianne Smith, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, downplayed the risk that the crisis in Israel will distract the United States, or the alliance.

“I suspect the United States will be able to stay focused on our partnership and commitment to Israel’s security, while also meeting our commitments and promise to continue supporting Ukraine,” she said.

Israel’s relationship with Russia has deteriorated in recent months as Moscow has grown increasingly dependent on Iran for supplies of drones and other weapons used to attack Ukraine. Iran is a major sponsor of Hamas, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has notably refrained from offering condolences to Israel, or condemning Hamas, since the attacks over the weekend.

Instead, Putin and other top officials, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have blamed the West for what they called an “escalation in violence.”

As Zelensky visited Brussels, Ukraine’s state security service, the SBU, announced Wednesday that it had identified two Ukrainian “traitors” who provided intelligence to Russian forces to direct a missile attack on a funeral reception in the northeastern village of Hroza last week.

The Oct. 5 attack, which struck a grocery store and cafe where locals had gathered after reburying a local soldier, killed at least 55 people — roughly one-sixth of the village’s population. The dead include one young boy. Three people are still missing.

Russian forces occupied Hroza last year but Ukraine retook control of the village during a surprise counteroffensive last fall.

Just before Ukraine liberated the village, the SBU said in a statement published on Telegram, two local residents, brothers Volodymyr and Dmytro Mamon, fled to Russia and followed instructions from officials there to begin remotely forming “their own networks of informants in the territory controlled by Ukraine.”

The SBU said the two men gathered information “under the guise of friendly conversations” in messages, including about military movements and various events in the region, including the funeral last week.

“Having learned the exact address and time of the event, Volodymyr Mamon gave this information to the Russian occupiers,” the SBU statement said. “The Russians used the received information to carry out a targeted attack on a Ukrainian village using the Iskander M missile.”

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has claimed without evidence that Western weapons given to Ukraine have ended up in the hands of Hamas and used in the attacks on Israel — allegations that Kyiv dismissed as a far-fetched disinformation campaign.