NATO members are working closely with military companies to ensure that Ukraine receives more supplies of weapons and equipment and is ready for a protracted war with Russia, the NATO Secretary General said yesterday. Jens Stoltenberg.
"We are providing a lot of support, but we have to do even more and be ready for the long haul," Stoltenberg said in an interview with Reuters.
"That is why we are now in close contact and working closely with the military industry to produce more and deliver more different types of ammunition, weapons and capabilities," the head of the alliance said.
In recent months, the US and other Western countries have begun supplying Ukraine with more advanced conventional weapons systems, including high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) that allow for longer range and greater accuracy.
Separately, in a speech in Norway to local Labor Party activists, Stoltenberg said yesterday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation," has created the most dangerous moment for Europe since World War II and that Russia cannot be allowed to win. .
"It is in our interest that this kind of aggressive policy fails," Stoltenberg said.
He also accused the Russian president Vladimir Putin that he had engaged in "reckless and dangerous" rhetoric regarding the potential use of nuclear weapons.
Stoltenberg said the invasion of Ukraine created the most dangerous moment for Europe since World War II and that Russia cannot be allowed to win
NATO members are not directly involved in the war, but NATO actively participates in coordinating the Western response to the invasion.
Stoltenberg reiterated his position that the war would likely end only after negotiations.
"We know that most wars end at the negotiating table. We also know that the outcome of those negotiations will depend entirely on strength on the battlefield," he told Reuters.
The head of NATO pointed out that it is not up to him to tell Ukraine exactly what those conditions should be.
"It is up to me and NATO to support them to strengthen their position, so that we increase the likelihood of an acceptable solution," said Stoltenberg, who made similar comments in June.
Amid fears among some politicians in the West that Russia's ambitions could extend beyond Ukraine, Stoltenberg warned Putin that the Western military alliance's response to such a move would be violent.
"If President Putin even thinks of doing something to a NATO member similar to what he did to Georgia, Moldova or Ukraine, the whole of NATO will immediately get involved," Stoltenberg said.
The war prompted Finland and Sweden to seek membership in the military alliance, a request so far ratified by 23 of the 30 member states, including the US.
"This is the fastest accession protocol in NATO's modern history. I expect the other seven remaining allies to do the same," Stoltenberg said.
He added that Turkey's request to extradite terrorism suspects from Sweden and Finland will have to be decided by the courts in those two countries.
"The rule of law applies in Finland and Sweden," Stoltenberg said.
Russia, which shares a long border with Finland, has repeatedly warned the two Nordic countries not to join NATO.
Ukrainian forces under pressure in the east
Ukraine announced yesterday that it was forced to cede part of its territory in the east of the country due to the Russian offensive.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this Sunday described the pressure his forces are facing in the Donbass as "hell". He spoke of fierce clashes around the town of Avdiyevka and the fortified village of Piski, where Kiev acknowledged a "partial success" by the Russians in recent days.
Reuters writes that for the past eight years, Ukraine has been establishing defensive positions in the village of Piski, which it considers a buffer zone against pro-Russian forces that control the city of Donetsk about 10 kilometers to the southeast.
General Alexei Gromov told a news conference that Ukrainian forces had recaptured two villages around the eastern city of Slavyansk, but had been pushed back to the suburb of Avdiyivka after being forced to abandon a coal mine seen as a key defensive position.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the offensive by its forces and said they inflicted heavy losses on the Ukrainians around Avdiyivka and two other locations in the Donetsk region, forcing Ukrainian mechanized infantry units to withdraw.
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