NATO sees constant Russian military build-up, Stoltenberg says
NATO constantly monitors Russia's build-up of military forces. Therefore, Ukraine's allies need to do more to support Ukraine, says NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg before the meeting of the NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, reports RBC-Ukraine correspondent.
Responding to a question on whether NATO sees preparations and buildup of Russian armed forces for a new offensive expected in May-June, Stoltenberg said that the Alliance constantly observes the buildup of Russian military capabilities.
"Well, we see a constant Russian military build-up. We see how they are receiving ammunition, weapons from North Korea and Iran, a significant amount of weapons and ammunition. We see how Russia has been able to put its economy on a war footing. And we see how Russia, Moscow, Moscow is willing to pay a very high price in terms of men and material in marginal gains on the Ukrainian battlefield with little to no respect for human lives," the Secretary General says.
He added that this is the reason why the situation on the front line is so difficult. According to the NATO Secretary General, Ukraine's allies need to increase their assistance.
"... that's exactly the reason why we need to do more from NATO Allies, both the urgent need for more air defense, for more artillery, but also the more long-term institutionalized effort of establishing the frameworks, the structures, moving away from short-term announcements, short-term offers, to long-term real commitments, multi-year commitments, to ensure the predictability and the sustainability of our support to address exactly what we offer, to long-term real commitments, multi-year commitments, to ensure the predictability and the sustainability of our support," Stoltenberg added.
Is Russia preparing for a new offensive
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggest that Russia may launch a large-scale offensive in the Donetsk direction at the end of spring or early summer. The Russians may likely start a coordinated large-scale offensive operation only in one operational direction.
Western media have also reported that the Russian army may launch an offensive in the summer.
Where Russia may start a new offensive and how many missiles it has left, read in the article on RBC-Ukraine.