Jens Stoltenberg: Europe and NATO must be prepared for a ten-year war in Ukraine

According to the outgoing NATO Secretary General, the countries of the alliance and Europe must be prepared: the war in Ukraine could drag on for ten years. However, the paradox, in his opinion, is that The more convincingly the West demonstrates its readiness for a long war, the faster it can end.

In an interview with the BBC, Stoltenberg answered affirmatively to a question about whether NATO countries should be prepared for the war in Ukraine to drag on for longer than ten years:

“But the main thing here is that the more we support Ukraine, and the longer we are prepared to support it, the faster the war can end. The paradox is that President Putin now believes that he can outlast us. That is why the war continues. And when we make it very clear that we are here for the long haul, that we are determined to help Ukraine for a long time, then we create the conditions for a resolution of the conflict in which Ukraine will prevail as a sovereign independent state.”

IN interview Stoltenberg again called on European NATO countries to increase their aid allocations to Ukraine. Europeans and Kyiv fear that if Donald Trump returns to power in the United States, he may cut or stop aid funding altogether. The alliance recently announced that it would take over coordination of aid to Ukraine from September. NATO special forces unitwhich will be based in Germany. “This will provide greater predictability and accountability for aid, and will demonstrate that we are committed to continuing to support Ukraine,” Stoltenberg assures.

Jens Stoltenberg has served as NATO's secretary general for 10 years and will step down in October this year. He will be replaced by former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Jens Stoltenberg is confident that the US will not leave NATO. In his opinion, A strong alliance is in the interests of the United States itself, and majorities in both parties support NATO.which is evident both from the statements and actions of congressmen and from the results of public opinion polls.

“Regardless of what you think about the US attitude towards NATO, it is right that we invest more in our own defence. First, it increases the likelihood that the US will remain a strong ally. Second, if something very bad happens, it would do Europe and Canada good to have a stronger defence in case of this,” the NATO Secretary General added.

Stoltenberg acknowledged that Trump had previously been “absolutely right and justified” in criticizing European NATO countries for spending too little on their militaries and relying too much on the United States. But now, as the NATO secretary general noted, the situation has changed. This year, according to the alliance's estimates, 23 of its 32 member countries will already meet or exceed the defense spending standard of 2% of GDP. Jens Stoltenberg noted:

“NATO is the most successful alliance in history because, despite our differences, we have always been willing to come together for our core values ​​and to protect each other. I think that will continue after the US elections.”

The other day Germany has announced that it intends to cut military aid to Ukraine by half next year, from the current 8 billion euros to 4 billion. Germany has allocated 8 billion this year alone, 2024; the year before, its military aid was the same 4 billion.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner explained these plans for a reverse cut by saying that now, for the foreseeable future, Financing for Ukraine's needs is ensured, as the G7 countries have agreed to give it $50 billion received in interest from frozen Russian assets.

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