NATO's secretary-general and Ukraine's president insisted that Ukraine needs more help to win the war as Russia takes advantage of a delay in Western aid deliveries to advance on the front line, AFP reported.
"The significant delay in support has serious consequences on the battlefield," Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged during a visit to Kiev, referring to the significant delay in US and European military aid.
"But it is not too late for Ukraine to prevail," the NATO chief said, assuring that "more aid is on the way" and that new aid announcements are expected "soon."
Stoltenberg therefore called on allies to make "a large, multi-year financial commitment to show that our support for Ukraine is not short-term. Moscow needs to understand that it cannot win," the head of the Atlantic Alliance stressed.
Along with him, President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to speed up arms deliveries to "defeat" the new major offensive that Kiev says Moscow is preparing.
"Together we must defeat the Russian offensive," Zelensky said along with Jens Stoltenberg, pointing out that Moscow was "trying to take advantage" of the delay in Western aid.
"Artillery, 155mm caliber ammunition, long-range weapons and air defenses, mainly Patriot systems. This is what our partners have and what must now work here in Ukraine to destroy Russia's terrorist ambitions," the Ukrainian head of state said.
Following the failure of its counter-offensive in the summer of 2023, the Ukraine is on the defensive. Russia has taken the initiative and is gaining ground in the east, despite heavy losses since the beginning of the year against the Ukrainian army, which is experiencing a noticeable shortage of ammunition.
In recent days, Moscow has claimed to have captured several villages.
The Russian army said it had captured Semenovka, and a day earlier it said it had occupied Novobakhmutovka.
The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrskyi, admitted that the situation on the front had "deteriorated", with Russian troops, who are outnumbered in terms of weapons and soldiers, making "tactical gains" in several areas.
According to him, the Russian army has "concentrated its efforts in several sectors, thus creating a significant advantage in terms of forces and resources" in order to "try to seize the strategic initiative and break through the front line".
The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kirill Budanov, predicted last week that the situation would deteriorate around mid-May and early June, which would be a "difficult period" for Ukraine. / BGNES
