The alliance also calls for providing Ukraine with tens of thousands of sets of winter uniforms, the NATO Secretary General noted.BRUSSELS, September 9.
/tass/. NATO sees "some successes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) near Kherson and Kharkiv," but urges "not to be mistaken" and prepare "for a long war," as well as to provide Ukraine with tens of thousands of sets of winter uniforms. This was stated on Friday by Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference in Brussels with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
"We see some successes of the Ukrainian army near Kherson and Kharkiv, but it is important not to be mistaken and prepare for a long war. The number of the Ukrainian army has grown and it is necessary to ensure its preparation for winter, including sending it tens of thousands of sets of winter uniforms," Stoltenberg said.
The Secretary General called on the alliance countries to increase arms supplies to Ukraine even to the detriment of their own defense capabilities, since the alliance considers the war in Ukraine an element of ensuring its own security. "NATO allies have provided unprecedented assistance to Ukraine, of course, reducing their stocks. But we need to realize that by providing weapons to Ukraine, we are helping to stop Russia's aggression against a sovereign nation in Europe," he argued. In his opinion, if Russia wins, it will be "bad not only for Ukraine, but also dangerous for all" NATO countries.
Stoltenberg also called on alliance members to produce more weapons. "We welcome the allies' assistance to Ukraine and call for more assistance," he said. - We need to produce more weapons to ensure the restoration of stocks. Not only to help Ukraine, but also to make sure that we have everything we need to protect ourselves."
According to the Secretary General, NATO will help Ukraine in the long term and ensure its transition from Soviet to Western weapons. "We will support Ukraine in the long term and help Ukraine move from Soviet weapons to weapons made according to our standards," he said.
"The price we pay is money, while the price for Ukraine is the loss of lives every day. And we will all pay more if Russia wins," Stoltenberg added.
