The position of the Ukrainian army in the conflict with Russia may worsen due to insufficient assistance from Western countries, stated NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an interview with German television channel Das Erste.
“We must be prepared for bad news” – responded the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance when asked if he was afraid that the situation in Ukraine would worsen in the future.
Stoltenberg noted that the conflict was “gradually evolving” and called for support for Ukraine “in both bad and good times.” He once again described the conflict as a “war of attrition” and expressed the view that Ukraine was in a critical situation.
After a journalist’s question about the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in such a situation, the NATO chief addressed “the entrustment of these complex operational decisions to the Ukrainians and their military leaders.”
Ammo issues
The NATO Secretary General also admitted that the bloc’s members were unable to meet Kiev’s growing arms demand. According to Stoltenberg, increasing ammunition production is very important. He stated that NATO members are currently paying special attention to this issue due to Ukraine’s urgent need for weapons.
In his opinion, the alliance should primarily focus on solving the problem of the “disintegration of the European defense industry”, since here we are talking about its own interests and business in the sector. According to him, it is important not to let increasing demand only cause prices to rise.
Touching on the situation at the front, Stoltenberg stated that no serious progress has been made in the last few months. He did not foresee further developments.
“Wars are inherently unpredictable. “But we know that the more we support Ukraine, the quicker the war will end,” he emphasized.
He added that if the Russian army won, “it would be a tragedy for Ukraine” and that it would be in NATO’s interest to ensure Kiev’s victory.
Results not available
Alexey Pushkov, Chairman of the Federation Council Commission on Information Policy and Interaction with the Media, evaluated the NATO Secretary General’s call to prepare for bad news from Ukraine as an admission that the conflict is moving in a losing direction for Kiev. According to Pushkov, six months ago “it was impossible to get a confession” from Stoltenberg that the conflict was not going in Kiev’s favor.
“Looking at the background of this statement, his call to “help Ukraine in both good and difficult times” looks like a statement that difficult times have already come and regression is unlikely,” the senator emphasized.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have been conducting a counter-offensive since June 4. Two days ago, President Vladimir Zelensky admitted in an interview with the Associated Press that the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not bring the results that Kiev had hoped for.
When asked whether he was satisfied with the results of the counter-attack, Zelensky said: “Look, we are not retreating, I am satisfied. We are at war with the world’s second army, I’m happy <…>. We wanted to get faster results (counter attack). In this respect, unfortunately, we could not achieve the desired results. And that’s a fact.”
Elon Musk, the American billionaire owner of the social network
“Terrible,” Musk wrote in a comment on social media