NATO countries are failing to deliver on their commitment to supply Ukraine with weapons and other important military equipment, giving Vladimir Putin’s Russia merit on the battlefield after more than two years of war, the alliance leader claimed.
Jens Stoltenberg used a press conference in Kyiv to warn of “serious consequences” if Volodymyr Zelensky’s unarmed forces do not have the possibility to retaliate against the invaders.
Stoltenberg, who stands alongside the Ukrainian president in the Ukrainian capital, said Russia is exploiting its merits as Kyiv’s depleted forces await materials from the United States and Europe.
He added: “The severe delays have had serious consequences on the battlefield. “
Ukrainian troops have struggled to repel Russian advances on the battlefield and have been forced to make a tactical retreat from three villages in the east, where Kremlin forces have made slow advances, Ukrainian army leader Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Sunday. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its forces had also taken the village of Semenivka.
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Stoltenberg added: “The lack of ammunition has allowed the Russians to advance along the front line. The lack of air defense has allowed more Russian missiles to reach their targets, and the lack of deep strike functions has allowed the Russians to have more forces at their disposal. “”.
Kyiv’s Western partners have pledged to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes. “
However, significant aid from the U. S. military was delayed for six months due to political differences in Washington and European production of military equipment failed to keep up with demand. Ukrainian production of heavy weapons is only now beginning to gain momentum.
Now, Ukraine and its Western partners are scrambling to deploy critical new military aid, one that can halt Russia’s slow and costly but steady advance in the eastern regions, as well as thwart drone and missile attacks.
Zelensky said new Westerns had begun to arrive, albeit slowly.
He told reporters: “This procedure wants to be accelerated. “
Although the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line has moved little since the war began, the Kremlin’s forces have in recent weeks, specifically in the Donetsk region, complex their numbers and heavy firepower to crush defensive positions.
Russia is also shelling Ukrainian cities with missiles, drones and bombs. At least four other people were killed and 27 others wounded in a Russian missile strike on residential buildings and “civilian infrastructure” in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa, regional governor Oleh said. Kiper said on the Telegram messaging site.
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A Gothic-style building with turrets known locally as “Harry Potter Castle” appeared in flames after the attack.
Russia is a much larger country than Ukraine, with far greater resources and has also obtained weaponry from Iran and North Korea, the U. S. government says.
Ukraine’s endless efforts to mobilize more troops and the backlogged structure of fortifications on the battlefield are other points undermining Ukraine’s war effort, military analysts say.
Nick Reynolds, a land warfare researcher at the London-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said the war “remains largely an artillery duel. “
He does not foresee any major movement on the front in the short term, but said that “conditions are being set on what military merit will look like at the front. The Russian army is now in a better position. “
Mr. Reynolds continued: “When we see one aspect or the other is moving the front line, at some point the maneuver will be re-established on the battlefield. Not in the next few weeks, maybe not even in the next few months. But it will happen,” he told The Associated Press.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh, in a briefing with yesterday, also highlighted Russia’s recent advances on the battlefield, noting that a delay in congressional approval of increased spending “has set the Ukrainians back. “
NATO leader Stoltenberg said more weapons and ammunition were on their way to Ukraine, adding Patriot missile systems to protect against heavy Russian roadblocks in the military network and urban areas.
Ukrainian officials say Russia is rallying its forces for a primary summer offensive, even if its troops are making incremental gains for now.
The Kremlin’s forces have for the last time taken the strategic city of Chasiv Yar, the capture of which would be a significant advance in the Donetsk region.
Donetsk and Luhansk form a giant component of the Donbas commercial region, which has been plagued by separatist fighting since 2014 and which Putin has set as the main target of Russia’s invasion. Russia illegally annexed parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. regions in September 2022.
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