Russia is preparing for a protracted

war

in Ukraine, and those who support Kyiv in NATO must keep sending weapons until Russian President Vladimir Putin realizes that he cannot win on the battlefield.

This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an interview with the AFP agency.

Stoltenberg warned that there was no sign that Putin "has given up on his overall goal of controlling Ukraine."

"We should not underestimate Russia. Russia is planning a long war," the Secretary General said in an interview.

"We see that they are mobilizing more forces, that they are also willing to suffer a lot of casualties, that they are trying to get access to more weapons and ammunition. We have to understand that President Putin is ready to be in this war for a long time and start new offensive operations." , he added.

According to Stoltenberg, most likely, this war will end at the negotiating table, like most wars, but any final decision must ensure "the victory of Ukraine as a sovereign, independent nation."

"The fastest way to achieve this is to support them with military force, so that President Putin understands that he cannot win on the battlefield, but must sit down and negotiate honestly," said the NATO Secretary General.

We will remind, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhnyi said on December 15 that, in his opinion, Russia is mobilizing 200,000 new troops and

may try to capture Kyiv as early as January

.

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