NATO chief claims Kiev could reverse frontline situation

With long-term aid from the West, Ukrainian forces could claim back lost territories, Mark Rutte believes

NATO member states must provide long-term assistance to Kiev, so it will eventually win back territory lost to Russia, Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.

”We have to make sure that defense aid will keep flowing to Ukraine,” he said during a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Arms and money will get the Ukrainians “from a position where they are losing territory [to one where] they are able to stabilize the front and then to win back from the Russians what they have lost.”

European members of the US-led military bloc have stepped up a gear ahead of the incoming presidency of Donald Trump. The Republican politician has criticized the level of aid sent to Ukraine under incumbent President Joe Biden, and has argued that the Europeans should shoulder more of the burden. The Democratic leadership has pledged to support Kiev for “as long as it takes” to defeat Russia.

Trump also claimed during the campaign that he could end the hostilities in 24 hours, if elected. Having won the election last week, he reportedly intends to deliver on that promise by leveraging American assistance to put pressure on Kiev and Moscow.

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Russian troops have been advancing at their fastest pace in months, according to media reports. Their progress escalated after Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky ordered an incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region in August, using some of his best-equipped troops for the operation. Ukrainian forces have suffered more than 32,000 casualties in a bid to hold onto the Russian territory, Moscow believes.

Russian officials have described the Ukraine conflict as a Western proxy war against their country, which the US and its allies are willing to wage “to the last Ukrainian.” Moscow intends to achieve its national security goals in the confrontation regardless of how much resources the US and its allies pour into Kiev’s war chest.

Both Rutte and Tusk are staunch supporters of Ukraine. The conflict is affecting the security situation in other parts of the world, highlighting NATO’s global mission, the organization’s chief said, citing the reported deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, which Moscow and Pyongyang have neither confirmed nor denied.