'It could take years': NATO secretary-general warns of a possible lengthy war in Ukraine
Russia's war in Ukraine could take years, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a German weekly newspaper, asking the invaded country's western allies to continue supporting it.
"We must prepare for the fact that it could take years. We must not let up in supporting Ukraine," Stoltenberg told Bild am Sonntag. "Even if the costs are high, not only for military support, also because of rising energy and food prices."
Stoltenberg stressed, though, that "the costs of food and fuel are nothing compared with those paid daily by the Ukrainians on the front line."
If Russian President Vladimir Putin should reach his objectives in Ukraine, like when he annexed Crimea in 2014, "we would have to pay an even greater price," Stoltenberg added.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed concerns "that a bit of Ukraine fatigue is starting to set in around the world" and has urged support for Ukrainian efforts to try to roll back the Russian invasion.
"It would be a catastrophe if Putin won. He'd love nothing more than to say, 'Let's freeze this conflict, let's have a cease-fire,'" Johnson said on Saturday, a day after a surprise visit to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and offered offer continued aid and military training.
Four months of brutal fighting in Ukraine appear to be straining the morale of troops on both sides, prompting desertions and rebellion against officers' orders, British defence officials said Sunday.
"Combat units from both sides are committed to intense combat in the Donbas and are likely experiencing variable morale," Britain's defence ministry said in its daily assessment of the war.
"Ukrainian forces have likely suffered desertions in recent weeks," the assessment said,
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