NATO Military Committee Chair arrives in Ukraine, first time since Russian invasion

Bauer said this at the opening of the 16th Kyiv Security Forum, reports an Ukrinform correspondent.

"My visit - the first NATO military delegation to visit Ukraine since the large-scale invasion - is testament to the fact that NATO and Ukraine are closer than they have ever been. With every day that passes, we become closer. More interoperable. More intertwined. Together, we are putting everything into place to make Ukraine a member of our Alliance. The Swedish flag will not be the only blue and yellow flag at the NATO headquarters. Why? Because we all believe in the power of democracy. That is what is at stake here," Bauer said.

According to him, the war unleashed by Russia was never due to a real threat to the security of the Russian Federation coming from Ukraine or NATO.

“This war is about President Putin fearing something much more powerful than any physical weapon on earth: democracy. If people in Ukraine can have democratic rights… real democratic rights… then people in Russia will soon crave them too. That is what this war is actually about," Admiral Bauer noted.

Bauer recalled that this year more than 2 billion people on Earth will cast their votes in democratic elections, but the concept of democracy needs to be defended today more than ever before.

As reported, on March 7, Sweden officially became a member of NATO.