Ukraine war ‘could take years’, Nato chief warns
- Jens Stoltenberg told a German newspaper that the transatlantic security alliance ‘must not let up’ its support for Ukraine ‘even if the costs are high’
- His comments came as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed his forces would not give up the south of the country to Russia
Nato’s chief warned that the war in Ukraine could last “for years” as President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Sunday that his forces would not give up the south of the country to Russia after his first visit to the frontline there.
Ukraine said it had also repulsed fresh attacks by Russian forces on the eastern front, where there have been weeks of fierce battles as Moscow tries to seize the industrial Donbas region.
While Ukraine remained defiant, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Western countries must be ready to offer long-term support to Kyiv during a grinding war.
He said the supply of state-of-the-art weaponry to Ukrainian troops would boost the chance of freeing its eastern region of Donbas from Russian control, Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper said.
“We must prepare for the fact that it could take years. We must not let up in supporting Ukraine,” he was quoted as saying. “Even if the costs are high, not only for military support, also because of rising energy and food prices.”
Meanwhile, four months of fighting in Ukraine appear to be straining the morale of troops on both sides, prompting desertions and rebellion against officers’ orders, Britain’s defence ministry said on Sunday.