ARTICLE
Ukrainians exceed expectations again – NATO Secretary General on counteroffensive
Olha Hlushchenko
Thursday, 31 August 2023, 05:35
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/08/31/7417810/
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, assessing the counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Defence Forces, has said that the Ukrainians are exceeding expectations.
Source: Stoltenberg in an interview with CNN, quoted by Ukrinform
QUOTE:
“The Ukrainians are gradually gaining ground, meaning that they are pushing back the Russians and they are able to get through some of these heavily defended territories, not least minefields. And it is even more important to support them [the Armed Forces of Ukraine – ed.].”
“What we have seen is that Ukrainians have exceeded expectations again and again, and we have to remember where the whole thing started last year with the full-fledged invasion by Russia into Ukraine.
Then, experts believed that Ukraine will only last for a few days or a few weeks. Now, they have liberated the north, around Kyiv, the east, around Kharkiv, and the territory in the south, Kherson. Now they are making even more gains.”
DETAILS:
Stoltenberg said that “this is fierce fighting, it’s a tough fight, and it’s no easy way to victory for the Ukrainians, but they are making achievements, they are gaining ground”.
Answering a question about differences in the assessment of counteroffensive tactics among Western militaries, Stoltenberg noted that “there is a constant dialogue going on between the NATO allies and, of course, also a dialogue with Ukraine”.
Stoltenberg believes that the Ukrainians have to be assisted with advice and support, “but at the end of the day, it has to be the Ukrainians, their commanders on the battlefield that are making those difficult and tough decisions”.
He also added that advanced air defence systems, supplied to Ukraine by NATO allies, “which are proven extremely effective”.
Stoltenberg said that “Ukrainians are very skillful in operating these systems”, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles and long-range cruise missiles.
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