"We are monitoring the situation in Russia. The events over the weekend are an internal Russian matter, and yet another demonstration of the big strategic mistake that President Putin made with his illegal annexation of Crimea and the war against Ukraine," Stoltenberg told reporters.
He spoke while on a visit to Lithuania -- which will host next month's NATO summit -- a couple of days after the Wagner mercenary group's aborted revolt against the Kremlin.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who was also in Lithuania on Monday, said the mutiny showed that Russia is an "unstable and unpredictable state".
After Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin called off his troops' advance on Saturday, Moscow said he would leave Russia for Belarus and would not face charges.
"We are also monitoring the situation in Belarus," Stoltenberg said, after Russia sent nuclear ammunition there earlier this month.
"We condemn Russia's announcement about deploying nuclear weapons. This is reckless and irresponsible," Stoltenberg added.
"We don't see any indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons but NATO remains vigilant."
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda also appeared at the press conference in Vilnius alongside Stoltenberg.
"The events of the past weekend in Russia demonstrated the instability of the Kremlin regime. Similar or even bigger challenges can be expected in the future," he told reporters.
He said the Wagner mutiny could affect the security of the region.
"The establishment of the Wagner group in Belarus may become an additional factor," he added.
17,000 Ukrainian army recruits trained by Britain, allies: UK govt
London (AFP) June 25, 2023 -
More than 17,000 Ukrainian recruits have been trained by Britain and other allies over the last year to help Kyiv fight Russia's invasion, the UK Ministry of Defence said Monday.
The recruits, from many different walks of life, all went through a "gruelling" five-week programme which the ministry said had transformed them "from civilians to soldiers".
Britain and nine partner nations -- Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania and The Netherlands -- opened the initiative for new volunteer recruits to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in June last year.
The UK-led training programme dubbed Operation Interflex taught the recruits, who had little to no previous military experience, various skills including weapons handling, battlefield first aid and patrol tactics.
"The determination and resilience of the Ukrainian recruits that arrive on British soil, from all walks of life, to train to fight alongside our British and international forces, is humbling to witness," UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said.
"The UK and our international partners will continue to provide this vital support, helping Ukraine defend against Russian aggression, for as long as it takes."
Britain initially offered to train up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers in battlefield skills, based on the UK's basic soldier training.
The programme has now been extended and is on track to train some 30,000 recruits by 2024, according to the British defence ministry.
It said intelligence has shown that the training has made "a significant difference to the combat effectiveness of Ukraine".
"The UK Armed Forces maintains close communication with Ukraine to improve and evolve the course based on the skills most needed on the battlefield," the ministry added.
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