Russia can no longer achieve its military goals in Ukraine despite significant military efforts. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Spiegel reports.
He reminded that the purpose of the invasion was to prevent Ukraine's progress towards NATO and the European Union. However, after almost two years of war, "Ukraine is now closer to NATO and the EU than ever before."
Stoltenberg also noted that Russia is paying an extremely high price for its war. Thus, the country has already lost "hundreds of aircraft and thousands of tanks, and more than 300,000 soldiers have been killed or wounded." In addition, the war has caused inflation to rise and living standards to fall. According to Stoltenberg, Russia is also more politically isolated than before.
At the same time, the NATO Secretary General warned against hopes for a quick end to the war given the developments and against believing that Putin would change course after his expected re-election on March 17.
"We have no indication that Putin will change his goals and his policies. He will continue to try to occupy more territories," Stoltenberg said.
In his opinion, this means that NATO and its 31 member states should continue to support Ukraine.
"Ukrainians have shown that they are capable of defending themselves, especially when they receive weapons from Germany and many other NATO countries," Stoltenberg summarized.
