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"Ukraine has a right to defend itself. And according to
international law, this right does not stop at the border,"
Stoltenberg told the paper, adding that NATO had not been
informed about Ukraine's plans beforehand and did not play a
role in them.
The NATO chief said Ukraine was running a risk with the advance
onto Russian territory but that it was up to Kyiv how to conduct
its military campaign.
"(Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskiy has made clear that
the operation aims to create a buffer zone to prevent further
Russian attacks from across the border," he said.
"Like all military operations, this comes with risks. But it is
Ukraine's decision how to defend itself."
Kyiv launched a major cross-border incursion into the Kursk
region on Aug. 6, while Moscow's troops keep pressing towards
the strategic hub of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.
The incursion was also discussed at a meeting of the
NATO-Ukraine-Council on Wednesday that was requested by Kyiv
amid Moscow's biggest wave of air attacks on its neighbor.
The council, grouping members of the Western military alliance
and Ukraine, was established last year to enable closer
coordination between the alliance and Kyiv.
Russia has called the Kursk operation a "major provocation" and
said it would retaliate.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by GV De Clercq and
Jonathan Oatis)
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