NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned that Western powers should be prepared for “bad news” from Ukraine in the wake of Kyiv’s failed “counter-offensive” against occupying Russian forces.
Amid growing concerns about Ukraine’s ability to continue the fight against the much larger Russian military and failures to recapture any meaningful amount of territory from Moscow’s army, there are growing whispers in the halls of power in the West about the ex-Soviet state’s prospects in battling back its former master.
The latest to publicly express concern was NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who told German broadcaster ARD as translated by POLITICO that the West should “be prepared for bad news,” without elaborating on exactly what he believes may befall the war-torn country next.
The comments from the Norwegian politician came as the Kremlin announced that President Vladimir Putin had ordered the addition of 170,000 extra troops to the Russian Armed Forces, in a move that would take the total strength of the army to over 1.3 million.
Last month, reports emerged from Washington that U.S. officials have quietly begun pressuring Kyiv to come to the negotiating table with Moscow, expressing concerns over the ability to draft more men into the fight. One unnamed American defence official told NBC News that “manpower is at the top of the administration’s concerns right now,” noting that further armed shipments would be irrelevant if Ukraine does not “have competent forces to use them.”
Zelensky Tells Britain: ‘World Not Focussed’ on Ukraine Any More, ‘Divided’ by Middle East https://t.co/Nzs5lBfrSn pic.twitter.com/9GTZPlgMjc
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 16, 2023
Despite such reported concerns, President Biden is continuing his lobbying effort on Congress to supply billions more military aid to Ukraine, with the White House warning that U.S. funding for the proxy war could dry up by the end of the year. Biden is currently seeking $61 billion in additional aid for Ukraine, however, there has been growing opposition among House Republicans to fund the conflict as the American public is growing war-weary.
For his part, President Zelensky has increasingly begun to air his frustrations, saying last week that he was “not satisfied” with the amount of arms donated to his country from the United States and its European allies. The Ukrainian president has also complained that the conflict between Israel and the Hamas terrorists has shifted focus away from the war in his country.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged European powers to ramp up the production of ammunition and to increase cooperation, saying: “We’re not able to work as closely together as we should.”
Even though he expects “bad news” in the coming months of the war, Stoltenberg said the West should not back away from the fight, warning that a victory for Russia in Ukraine could pose a threat to NATO allies in Europe.
“We have to support Ukraine in both good and bad times,” he said, adding: “The more we support the Ukraine, the faster the war will end.”
That a Threat? Zelensky Warns Ukrainians in Europe Could Act ‘Unpredictably’ if Western Aid Is Cuthttps://t.co/EAtH5PhNmo
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 13, 2023
As Breitbart News also reported:
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko expressed concern for the future of democracy in Ukraine under President Volodymyr Zelensky and pronounced himself unsurprised that support for the president is falling in the country in a series of interviews published this weekend.
