NATO should be prepared for ‘bad news’ from Ukraine: Stoltenberg

Brussels, The Gulf Observer: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that the military alliance should be prepared for “bad news” from Ukraine as it continues to face Russia’s offensive.

“Wars develop in phases,” Stoltenberg said in an interview over the weekend with German public broadcaster ARD, noting: “We have to support Ukraine in both good and bad times .”

“We should also be prepared for bad news,” he added, without elaborating.

Stoltenberg defined the war between Russia and Ukraine as “a war of attrition, a battle for efficiency, a battle for logistics.”

The ramping up of production by NATO members of ammunition “is vital. We are working hard to ensure that this happens,” he added.

Saying that a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin would not only be a tragedy for Ukraine but also dangerous for the West, Stoltenberg noted that it would be in “our interest” to ensure that Ukraine wins.

Ukraine said at least two people were killed and seven others wounded by Russian shelling in the Kherson region Sunday, while air defences downed 10 Russian drones overnight.

Kherson was recaptured by Ukrainian forces in November 2022 but has since faced relentless shelling by Russian forces from the opposite bank of the adjoining Dnipro river.

Officials said a 78-year-old man was killed Sunday morning when the village of Sadove was bombarded, while a woman in Kherson city was killed by shelling in a street.

Sadove lies just east of Kherson city, close to the Dnipro river that marks the front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces.