NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday 9 September that the conflict in Ukraine is entering a critical phase as Ukrainian forces appear to be regaining ground.
“The war in Ukraine is entering a critical phase. Ukrainian forces have been able to stall Moscow’s offensive in the Donbas, strike back behind Russian lines and retake territory. Just in the last few days, we have seen further progress both in the south in Kherson and in the east in the Kharkiv region”, he summarised at a press conference alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after a meeting of the North Atlantic Council. Mr Blinken had just returned from a trip to Ukraine.
“It is too early to say exactly where (this counter-offensive) will go, when it will happen or where it will end. But I think we can say that Ukraine is moving forward in a very deliberate way, with a solid plan and, most importantly, with the resources that many of us are providing”, added the US Secretary of State.
Despite the Ukrainian advances, Mr Stoltenberg and Mr Blinken warned that the conflict would continue. According to the NATO Secretary General, the progress of the Ukrainian army shows, among other things, that Allied support “is making a difference everyday on the battle field”.
He called on the Allies to step up their military support to Ukraine, including winter equipment. Mr Stoltenberg recalled that the previous day the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Ramstein had agreed on the importance of intensifying and maintaining this military support “so that Ukraine can establish itself as an independent sovereign state”.
For Mr Blinken, diplomacy is the only way to put a definitive end to Russian aggression and while, for the moment, there is no indication that Russia wants to negotiate, “when the time comes, Ukraine will have to be in the strongest possible position”.
With Russia using energy as a weapon, Mr Stoltenberg warned that “in the coming months” the unity and solidarity of the Allies would be tested by pressure on energy supplies and the soaring cost of living caused by the war in Russia. But “the price we pay is measured in money, while the price Ukrainians are paying is measured in lives”, he said. Mr Blinken promised that the US would not leave Europeans out in the cold. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)