Western leaders have warned that the war in Ukraine could last for years and will require long-term military support, as Russia presented reserve forces in an apparent attempt to capture the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with the German newspaper Bild on Sunday: “We must prepare for the passing of years. We must not stop supporting Ukraine.”
The comments of the head of the military alliance were echoed by Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, who said: “I am afraid we must strengthen ourselves for a long war”, adding that it was necessary to alongside Ukraine. ” .
It came when the new head of the British army said British troops had to be prepared “to fight in Europe once again”. “There is now a burning imperative to forge an army capable of fighting alongside our allies and defeating Russia in battle,” said General Sir Patrick Sanders, writing to his officials about the challenges they face.
The statements suggest that the West believes that Ukraine cannot achieve a rapid military advance despite the early arrival of new standard NATO weapons, while officials in the country have continued to call for prompt help.
Ukrainian forces remain on the defensive in the eastern Donbas region, where fighting continues in Sievierodonestsk. Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, said Russia was joining forces in an attempt to take full control of the city after weeks of fighting.
“Today, tomorrow or tomorrow, they will release all the reserves they have … Because there are so many, they are in critical mass,” Haidai told Ukrainian television.
Russia already “controls most of Sievierodonetsk,” Haidai said Sunday morning, and if Ukrainian forces lose the city, fighting is expected to focus on neighboring Lysychansk, where 32 residents have been evacuated during the war. of the week despite heavy bombardment.
Smoke and flames are coming out of the Nitrogen chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk after the Russian bombing on Saturday. Photo: Reuters
The UK Ministry of Defense said in a morning update that heavy fighting meant that combat units on both sides in the Donbas region were “probably experiencing variable morale”, a rare acknowledgment of the pressures being they face both sides.
“Ukrainian forces have probably suffered desertions in recent weeks. However, Russian morale is likely to remain particularly worrying. There are still cases of entire Russian units rejecting orders and armed clashes between officers and their troops,” he said. say the ministry on Twitter.
Ukraine has called for a large influx of Western weapons to try to push back the Russian invaders, but what has been offered so far is less than what Kyiv has asked for. The United States, the United Kingdom and Germany have promised to send 10 rocket artillery systems, but Ukrainian advisers have requested 60 or even 300.
A Ukrainian official told the Guardian that helping the country win a quick victory would be a long-term saving. Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, said: “We need these weapons because winter is approaching,” and that the country would face a higher economic cost if the war dragged on.
The problems could extend beyond Ukraine, he added, arguing that “Europe could face another wave of immigrants” from African and Middle Eastern countries that previously depended on Ukrainian grain exports. if the war continued to disrupt maritime exports.
Stoltenberg said the price of long-term support in Ukraine was justified, despite spending military support and “rising energy and food prices,” because the West “would pay a much higher price” if Vladimir Putin was successful and Russian forces occupied large numbers. parts of Ukraine.
Johnson told the Sunday Times that the supply of weapons should continue and that it would be necessary to “preserve the viability of the Ukrainian state” by providing financial support “to pay salaries, run schools, deliver aid and begin reconstruction.” . ”.
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City mayors and regional governors of Ukraine say that in most cases they are already facing funding shortfalls and there is no money to repair damaged infrastructure and buildings in places like Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv, in the four-month war because the government spending is focused on the war effort.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the southwestern front of Mykolaiv and the nearby city of Odessa on Saturday. After his visit, he insisted that Ukraine would not cede any of the occupied territories in the south of the country to Russia, which occupies most of the country’s coastal areas.
“We will not give the south to anyone. We will return everything that is ours and the sea will be Ukrainian and safe, ”said the president. “Russia does not have as many missiles as our people have the desire to live.”
Two commanders defending the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol – Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov battalion, and Serhiy Volynsky, commander of the 36th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces – have been transferred to Russia. Russian state news agency. Tass reported Saturday.