BRUSSELS, June 20 Russian defense, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a visit to one of the military-industrial enterprises in Germany.
“The counteroffensive is still at an early stage. We know that the Ukrainians have a difficult road ahead. he emphasized.
According to Stoltenberg, the Russian military has erected lines of defense with minefields, anti-tank trenches and «dragon's teeth». He noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine need modern equipment to overcome them.
The NATO Secretary General added that if the alliance wants to be ready for a long conflict in Ukraine, it should first of all pay attention to a reliable defense industry. In his opinion, this confrontation is being waged «at attrition» and is gradually turning into a «battle of logistics».
«The importance of having a robust defense industry that can provide equipment, support, repair of various types of systems on a long-term basis <…> becomes even more important,» he said in a joint statement with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
br>Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Yuzhnodonetsk, Zaporozhye and Artyomovsk directions began on June 4th. At the same time, the main blow of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was concentrated on the Zaporozhye sector of the front. Kyiv threw into battle brigades trained by NATO specialists and armed with Western equipment.
At a meeting with military correspondents on June 13, Vladimir Putin said that the Ukrainian troops were suffering heavy losses during the offensive and had not achieved success in any of the areas.
Even last spring, Russia sent a note to NATO countries because of the transfer of weapons to Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Kiev will become a legitimate target for the Russian military.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said that the United States and the alliance are directly involved in the conflict — not only by supplying weapons, but also by training personnel for territories of Great Britain, Germany, Italy and other countries.