NATO Secretary General explains what he sees as Ukraine’s success, despite nearly static contact line

JENS STOLTENBERG, PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has noted that he sees Ukraine’s progress in the 2023 military campaign, although the contact line is barely moving.

Source: Stoltenberg, answering a question from journalists about whether the Allies understand that the situation on the battlefield is close to a stalemate and what they plan to do in order to help break it

Details: Stoltenberg noted that although the contact line is indeed almost static, the intensity of the fighting remains remarkably high, especially in Ukraine’s east over recent weeks.

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Quote: “We are impressed by the bravery, the competence of the Ukrainian forces, and also their ability to actually strike behind the Russian lines deep into Russian-controlled territory.”

“Military achievements can partially be measured in square metres, but also on the losses you are able to inflict on your adversary. Yes, the frontline hasn’t moved so much… The Ukrainians have been able to inflict heavy losses on the Russian invaders, both measured in personnel and casualties but also in taking out fighting capabilities. So, these are significant gains. And also, they’ve been able to push back the [Russian] Black Sea Fleet from a big part of the Black Sea.”

Details: The official also urged the world to keep in mind the assessments and sentiments that prevailed at the beginning of the full-scale war, when most predicted Ukraine’s imminent defeat, yet Ukraine had liberated a large share of its territory by the end of 2022.

Background: In its latest review, UK Defence Intelligence noted that Russian occupying forces’ losses over the past six weeks have been the highest since the start of the full-scale war.

Earlier, the UK MoD indicated that Russia was likely moving air defence systems from Kaliningrad Oblast to the war zone in Ukraine, regardless of the fact that the Russians consider this region to be the most strategically vulnerable.

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