Speaking to reporters outside the White House after meeting with US President Joe Biden on Thursday, Stoltenberg said it is difficult to predict how or when the conflict will end, Aljazeera reported.
“Wars are by nature unpredictable,” Stoltenberg said.
“And therefore, we just have to be prepared for the long haul because what we see is that this war has now become a war of attrition where the Ukrainians are paying a high price for defending their own country on the battlefield, but also where we see that Russia is taking high casualties”, he also claimed.
He added that NATO’s “responsibility” is to provide support for the Ukrainians.
Stoltenberg reiterated that the war, like most conflicts, will end at the negotiating table.
Russia launched its all-out military operation of Ukraine on February 24 after Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded an end to NATO expansion into former Soviet republics.
The US and its allies have been supplying Ukraine with weapons and training Ukrainian troops on them at locations outside the country. On Wednesday, Biden announced a new $700m weapons package to Ukraine that includes advanced rocket systems and anti-aircraft missiles.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has continued to warn that sending Western weapons to Ukraine will prolong the war.
RHM/PR
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