No one knows how long the war in Ukraine will last, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, though he cautioned that the world should be prepared for a war that stretch on for years.
Stoltenberg’s forecast, in an interview published Saturday in Germany’s Bild newspaper, comes as the United States and its allies are preparing for a drawn-out conflict. On the heels of a visit to Kyiv, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it is critical to maintain visible support for Ukraine, even as “Ukraine fatigue is setting in.”
Control of Severodonetsk, in the eastern Luhansk region, has hung in the balance for days. Russian forces made “marginal gains” there recently, analysts said, even as the Ukrainian army said the enemy had stalled in some parts of the city. Russia has amassed reserves in the region in preparation for a large attack, according to Serhiy Haidai, Luhansk’s regional governor.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video posted early Sunday local time that he had returned to the capital from a visit to the front lines in southern Ukraine. He said the mood among troops was certain. “They all do not doubt our victory,” he wrote in Ukrainian. “We will not give the south to anyone.”