In view of the protracted war in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called for an increase in weapons production in the western military alliance. “We need a huge amount of ammunition. We need spare parts,” the Norwegian said in an interview with British radio BBC 4 at the weekend. Maintaining the weapons systems that have already been delivered to Ukraine is at least as important as the debate on other weapons.
NATO must be prepared to support Ukraine in the long term, Stoltenberg said. There have been no signs from Russia that it has given up on its overarching goal of dominating Ukraine. “The Ukrainian armed forces had the upper hand for several months. But we also know that Russia has mobilized many new forces, many of which are now being trained.” He added: “This indicates that they are ready to continue the war and may try to launch a new offensive.”
This war is likely to end at the negotiating table as well, but Ukraine’s strength on the battlefield will be decisive for the outcome of these negotiations, NATO Secretary General said. It is up to Kyiv to decide under what conditions to sit down at the negotiating table.