Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Western leaders during NATO's ongoing Madrid summit that Russia could spread its invasion to an allied country within the next year, CNBC reported.
The Ukrainian leader made his remarks at the historic event virtually on Wednesday, just a day after Turkey agreed to lift its opposition toward Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.
"Next year, the situation may be worse, not only for Ukraine, but also for several other countries, possibly NATO members that may be under fire from Russia," Zelenskyy stated. "Then it will be our common failure — both for Ukraine and for NATO."
"Please, look at our state — this is what it all can lead to in your countries," he continued.
Zelenskyy followed up by posing a question to NATO officials regarding which countries Russian President Vladimir Putin could target next. He suggested that Moldova, the Baltic states, and Poland could soon be at risk of the Kremlin's aggression.
"This is not a war of Russia only against Ukraine; this is a war for the right to dictate conditions in Europe. For what the future world order will be like," the Ukrainian president explained.
The comments from Zelenskyy come as President Joe Biden revealed at the summit the same day that the United States would, for the first time, permanently station forces on NATO's eastern flank, according to The New York Times.
"In a moment when Putin has shattered peace in Europe and attacked the very tenets of the rules-based order, the United States and our allies — we're going to step up," Biden said, adding that an Army garrison headquarters and a field support battalion would soon deploy in Poland.
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