(Dan Tri) – NATO Secretary General warned that delays in providing Western military aid to Ukraine have caused `consequences`.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (Photo: Getty).

`NATO support is not charity, it is an investment in our own security,` NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with MSNBC news agency on April 21.

Mr. Stoltenberg also said that the delay in providing military aid from the US and NATO to Ukraine had `consequences`.

`It’s not too late, but of course the delay has had real consequences. Russia has more ammunition,` Mr. Stoltenberg said when commenting on the new aid package for Ukraine passed by the US House of Representatives.

`We noticed that few Russian missiles and drones were shot down only because they (Ukraine) lack air defense systems as well as ammunition for air defense systems. But it is not too late because Ukraine has

The NATO Secretary General stated that NATO has no plans to send combat units to Ukraine, although some of the alliance’s allies have military advisers there.

`There are no plans for any NATO combat presence in Ukraine, but of course some NATO allies have people in uniform at their embassies doing advisory work,` said Stoltenberg.

According to him, it is necessary to distinguish between the presence of Western military advisers and fighting forces in Ukraine.

`We have no plans to have a combat presence. What we do in Ukraine is we help them defend themselves,` the NATO secretary general declared.

Mr. Stoltenberg repeatedly affirmed that NATO has no plans to send troops to Ukraine and that NATO and its allies are not parties to the conflict in Ukraine.

Mr. Stoltenberg warned that even if NATO member countries decide to send troops to a conflict zone, the entire NATO bloc will be affected because NATO members are bound by a collective defense treaty.

Previously, President Macron said there is currently no consensus at this stage on sending troops to the Ukrainian battlefield, but this scenario cannot be ruled out.

Many NATO members have rejected President Macron’s statement, with the majority of countries pledging not to get involved in Ukraine, instead suggesting that the bloc should focus on military and financial support for Kiev.

Moscow has warned that the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine could make a direct confrontation between Russia and the US-led bloc inevitable.

On April 20, the US House of Representatives approved nearly $61 billion in aid to Ukraine after months of deadlock.

Because of opposition from some Republican members in the House of Representatives, US President Joe Biden’s administration has not sent any aid to Kiev since December last year.

The new aid package, once approved, is expected to significantly increase Ukraine’s military resources.