NATO warns of long Ukraine war as Russian assaults follow EU boost for Kyiv

The war in Ukraine could last for years, the head of NATO said on Sunday, as Russia stepped up its assaults after the European Union recommended that Kyiv become a candidate to join the bloc. Jens Stoltenberg said the supply of state-of-the-art weaponry to Ukrainian troops would boost the chance of freeing its eastern region of Donbas from Russian control, Germany`s Bild am Sonntag newspaper said. "We must prepare for the fact that it could take years. We must not let up in supporting Ukraine," Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of the military alliance, was quoted as saying.

"Even if the costs are high, not only for military support, also because of rising energy and food prices."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited Kyiv on Friday, also spoke over the weekend of a need to prepare for a long war.

This meant ensuring "Ukraine receives weapons, equipment, ammunition and training more rapidly than the invader", Johnson wrote in an opinion piece in London`s Sunday Times.

"Time is the vital factor," he wrote. "Everything will depend on whether Ukraine can strengthen its ability to defend its soil faster than Russia can renew its capacity to attack."

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Johnson stressed the need to avoid "Ukraine fatigue". With Russian forces "grinding forward inch by inch", allies must show the Ukrainians they were there to support them for a long time, he said.

Ukraine received a significant boost on Friday when the European Commission recommended it for candidate status, a decision European Union nations are expected to endorse at a summit this week.

That would put Ukraine on course to realise an aspiration seen as out of reach before Russia`s Feb. 24 invasion, even if membership could take years.

 

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