Stoltenberg told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that no one knew how long the conflict would last, but “we have to prepare for the fact that it could take years.” “We must not stop supporting Ukraine. Even if the costs are high, not only for military support, but also because of rising energy and food prices.” Boris Johnson, writing to the Sunday Times after his second visit to Kyiv on Friday, said the Western allies should “decide on a long war as Putin launches a campaign of destruction, trying to crush Ukraine with sheer barbarism.” . Johnson said the occupation of all of Donbass in Ukraine, which covers much of eastern Ukraine, had been Putin’s goal for the past eight years “when he sparked an separatist uprising and launched his first invasion.” While Russia has not yet achieved this goal, “Putin may not realize it, but his grand imperial plan for the total recapture of Ukraine has been derailed. In his isolation, he may still believe that total conquest is possible.” . Both men stressed the need to prevent future Russian aggression. Stoltenberg said: “If Putin learns the lesson from this war that he can just continue as he did after the Georgia war in 2008 and the occupation of Crimea in 2014, then we will pay a much higher price.” Johnson asked what would happen if President Putin were free to keep all parts of Ukraine under the control of Russian forces. “What if no one was willing to raise their finger as they annexed this conquered land and their frightened people to a greater Russia? Would that bring peace?” Johnson said that through steady long-term support for Ukraine, “we and our allies will protect our own security as well as that of Ukraine, and we will protect the world from the deadly dreams of Putin and those who might seek to copy them.” ». Johnson wrote: “Time is of the essence. It will all depend on whether Ukraine can strengthen its ability to defend its territory faster than Russia can renew its ability to attack. “Our goal is to spend time on the side of Ukraine.”
“Strategic advantage”
On Sunday, Ukrainian officials said fierce fighting was continuing in the town of Severodonetsk – the epicenter of a bloody battle in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region – and surrounding communities as Russian forces tried to break up resistance from Ukrainian defenders and seize parts of it. eastern Luhansk region they do not already control. Serhii Hayday, head of the regional military administration, said “the fighting for Severodonetsk is continuing” and that the large Azot chemical plant, home to about 500 civilians, had been bombed again. Russian operations appear to have been designed to break through Ukrainian defenses south of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, cutting off Ukrainian units still defending the two strategically important cities. To the west, in the Donetsk region, also in Donbass, the Ukrainian army reported further bombardment of Ukrainian positions near Sloviansk. There was also a missile attack in the area, according to an operational briefing of the Ukrainian General Staff. But there seems to have been little change in the front row positions. Stoltenberg was cautiously optimistic that Ukraine could change the course of the war. “Although the battle in Donbas is being waged more and more brutally by Russia, the Ukrainian troops are fighting bravely. With more modern weapons, the chances are increasing that Ukraine will be able to drive Putin’s troops out of Donbas again.” The Ukrainian army burns Soviet-era munitions that fit older systems. As Western weapons systems arrive, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned this week that they needed to come faster as Russia amassed a significant artillery advantage around the two cities in eastern Ukraine. U.S. officials have insisted that Western weapons continue to flow into the front lines of the conflict. However, local reports of arms shortages – and frustrated calls from Ukrainian front-line officials – have raised questions about how effective the supply lines are. The Biden government announced on Wednesday that it had provided $ 1 billion in additional military assistance to Ukraine, a package that includes additional missile, ammunition and coastal defense systems. While the UK “plans to work with our friends to prepare Ukrainian forces to defend their country, with the ability to train up to 10,000 troops every 120 days,” Johnson said. While Russia is making gradual gains in eastern Ukraine, Johnson stressed the wear and tear of Russian forces in the fighting, saying Russia would need “years, maybe decades, to replace this material.” “Hour by hour, Russian forces are spending equipment and ammunition faster than their factories can produce.” In late May, Ukrainian officials said Russian units were being reinforced with Soviet-era T-62 tanks that appeared to be out of stock. The British Prime Minister added: “The United Kingdom and our friends must respond by ensuring that Ukraine has the strategic stamina to survive and ultimately prevail.” He outlined four key steps in supporting Ukraine, including: maintaining the Ukrainian state, including ensuring that the country receives “weapons, equipment, ammunition and training” us”. a “long-term effort to develop” alternative land routes to overcome “Russia’s strangulation of the Ukrainian economy by blocking its main export routes through the Black Sea.” This weekend, Zelensky visited the front lines in the coastal city of Odessa and the southern city of Mykolaiv, both of which are Russia’s targets in trying to occupy the Black Sea coast. Johnson added that the Russian blockade of the Black Sea ports meant that about “25 million tons of corn and wheat – the total annual consumption of all the least developed countries – accumulated in silos throughout Ukraine.” At the forthcoming NATO summit in Madrid, Stoltenberg said a new strategic strategy would be adopted “declaring that Russia is no longer a partner, but a threat to our security, peace and stability.” He said that “striking Russia’s nuclear swords is dangerous and irresponsible. Putin must know that a nuclear war can not be won and must never be fought.” CNN’s Tara John, Barbara Starr, Jeremy Herb and Oren Liebermann contributed to this piece.
