KYIV —
NATO’s chief warned that the war in Ukraine could
last “for years” as President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed Sunday that his forces
would not give up the south of the country to
Russia after his first visit to
the frontline there.
اضافة اعلان
Ukraine said it had also repulsed fresh attacks by
Russian forces on the eastern front, where there have been weeks of fierce
battles as Moscow tries to seize the industrial Donbas region.
While Ukraine remained defiant, NATO
Secretary-General
Jens Stoltenberg warned Western countries must be ready to
offer long-term support to Kyiv during a grinding war.
“We must be prepared for this to last for years,”
Stoltenberg told German daily newspaper Bild.
“We must not weaken in our support of Ukraine, even
if the costs are high — not only in terms of military support but also because
of rising energy and food prices.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a
similar warning, urging sustained support for
Kyiv or risk “the greatest
victory for aggression” since World War II.
“Time is now the vital factor,” Johnson wrote in an
article for the Sunday Times after making his second visit to Kyiv, calling for
the West to ensure Ukraine has the “strategic endurance to survive and
eventually prevail”.
Russian forces have directed their firepower at the
east and south of Ukraine in recent weeks since failing in their bid to take
the capital Kyiv after the lightning February 24 invasion.
Zelensky made a rare trip outside Kyiv Saturday to
the hold-out
Black Sea city of Mykolaiv, and visited troops nearby and in the
neighboring Odessa region for the first time since the Russian invasion.
“We will not give away the south to anyone, we will
return everything that’s ours and the sea will be Ukrainian and safe,” he said
in a video posted on Telegram as he made his way back to Kyiv.
He said he talked with troops and police during his
visit.
“Their mood is confident, and looking into their
eyes it is obvious that they all do not doubt our victory,” he said.
But Zelensky admitted that losses were “significant”,
adding: “Many houses were destroyed, civilian logistics were disrupted, there
are many social issues.”
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