Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg earlier warned that Ukraine’s allies needed to brace for a gruelling “war of attrition” ahead.
Speaking to reporters following following White House talks with US president Joe Biden on Thursday, the secretary general told reporters:
We just have to be prepared for the long haul,” the secretary general told reporters.
Because what we see is that this war has now become a war of attrition.”
Stoltenberg said Ukrainians are “paying a high price for defending their own country on the battlefield, but also we see that Russia is taking high casualties.”
While reiterating that Nato does not want to enter direct confrontation with Russia, Stoltenberg said the western military alliance has a “responsibility” to support Ukraine.
Most wars – also, most likely this war – will at some stage end at the negotiating table, but what we know is that what happens around the negotiating table is very closely linked to the situation on the ground, on the battlefield.”