NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has warned that a Russian victory over Ukraine would undermine the dissuasive force of the world’s biggest military alliance and could cost trillions of dollars to restore the organization's credibility.

Russia "will strive to make this decision part of the Alliance's policy," the state-controlled news agency quotes the diplomat as saying. Grushko described it as "one of the key elements of a possible agreement" and a component "related to eliminating the root causes" of Russia's war against Ukraine.

The military alliance has been increasing its forces along its eastern flank with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, deploying thousands of troops and equipment