NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday urged alliance members to continue funding the proxy war in Ukraine amid growing signs that Western support for the conflict is waning.
“We just have to stay the course. This is about also about our security interests,” Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
The NATO chief acknowledged that the battle lines have barely moved in the past year as Ukraine’s counteroffensive has failed and justified continuing support based on the damage being done to Russian forces.
“We have also to take into account that even though the frontline has not moved so much, the Ukrainians have been able to inflict heavy losses on the Russian forces with deep strike capabilities, with cruise missiles delivered by NATO Allies,” Stoltenberg said.
However, the Ukrainian side is facing a manpower shortage as it has taken heavy casualties. The average age of a Ukrainian soldier is now 43, as many young Ukrainians have been killed or maimed in the war.
An aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told Time Magazine that even if the West provided Kyiv with all of the weapons it needs, Ukraine doesn’t have the men to use them. The same report quoted another aide who said Zelensky “deludes himself” into thinking Ukraine can win the war. “We’re out of options. We’re not winning. But try telling him that,” the aide said.
Despite the bleak picture for Ukraine, Stoltenberg and the Biden administration want to keep fueling the war. President Biden is looking for $61 billion to fund the war for another year, but it’s not clear how much Congress will authorize.
Stoltenberg is the pristine embodiment of the Peter Principle, along with his sidekick in arms, Ursula von der Leyen.
Ah, come on … they’re just grifters on the make and have found a good one to ride to fame and $$$. Those fancy suits don’t come free, you know …
NATO is a monster organization. Monster. Rivaled only by the U.S. The UN is useless.
Your country Russia is a monster too.
Yeah, but Russia’s crimes pale in comparison to the crimes of the fascist American leadership. Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and countless untold atrocities in the Sahel stack up to quite the body count. Much higher than any war atrocities committed by the Russians. This does not excuse Russian crimes, but it does put them in proper context.
Thanks for agreeing with me.
Wait how much land did the “Fascist American” annex from those countries?
“This does not excuse Russian crimes…” but here you are supporting and defending them. Lol.
how much land do you claim was “annexed” by Russia?
because as of today both Crimea and Donbass remain Crimea and Donbass. the only difference is that now they can relax a bit from the Ukrainian menacing that they had received since 2014.
So accusing Russia of war crimes is supporting them. Ok tequila man whatever you say.
“Wait how much land did the “Fascist American” annex from those countries?”
I guess in your twisted neocon mind war crimes don’t count unless territory was annexed. You really are a contemptible fascist, aren’t you? They have annexed none as they have not been able to pacify any of those countries. The fact that there are no credible reports of partisan warfare in annexed Ukraine should tell you something, but unfortunately non programmed information bounces off your thick skull. The goal was to have occupying forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria permanently. This was an openly stated goal of the neocons. Are you now going to claim that it wasn’t? I suppose you will as you are a lying neocon POS.
But but but. Shut up.
Tell me some new BS i haven’t heard you fluffer.
The fact remains that Americans have committed atrocities on a much larger scale than anything Putin has ever attempted. Just take one example of the battle against ISIS. Something like 150,000 innocent civilians were killed vs about 35,000 ISIS fighters. During the Ukraine war only ~10,000 civilians have been killed versus (at least, but probably much higher than) 220,000 soldiers. A crime to be sure, but on a much smaller scale than anything we see the USA doing around the world.
Do you follow that reality show where pairs of contestants travel the world completing tasks ? Because you’re the most Amazing Racist on this site.
I can similarly call you a racist based on your posts and support for Russia so shove your words.
“…based on your posts…”
Provide evidence, Donald.
Provide evidence of the contrary
You made a positive claim, so the Burden of Proof is on you.
It’s as if you said faeries and pixies (any fey-folk, really) exist and when I ask for evidence, you say “No, prove that leprechauns DON’T exist.”
Do you understand Burden of Proof, Donald ?
Agent Julio is in the process of screen-writing his own reality show.
it will be directed by Agent jake and produced by Agent Rational Thinker.
Oh the Putin Lover hypocrites are teaming up against the minority here that disagree with them.
What’s new?
What’s new?
Nothin’ you got to say, that’s for sure.
Wow, Donald – look at you siding with minorities all of a sudden. “From the River to the Sea – alone, we sad Tequila Three.”
Streaming services : “Here’s US$200 million – when can we have the first season ?”
i am waiting for the box-set
Their opinions are so out-of-date I daresay you’d better expect that box-set to be VHS tapes.
When the UN was founded most West-Europeans were relieved. That had nothing to do with the Soviet Union or Stalin. There would not be another war between Germany and France.
I would like to know where stoltenberg gets his information about “russian losses” from; they make little sense given the battlefield realities.
This is just like the first couple years of WW1, when the British and French press, parroted in the USA, kept insisting that even though their offensives weren’t succeeding, they actually WERE succeeding, because they were inflicting “so many disproportionately more casualties on the Germans”. Which, as it turned out, was a complete lie. I suspect the same thing here in Ukraine.
There is a website named “Daily Kos” on which the Russian Armed Forces are pulverized every day to emerge somehow intact to emerge the next day, to get pulverized…..
To me Putin is a mini-Stalin who can get stopped but not by this war. By diplomacy plus weapons in the background.
After WW1, Russia was the ally which suffered the largest territorial loss. After WW2, the Soviet Union was the only ally which eventually became disintegrated. That needs to be remembered.
Lesson for China: never become an ally of the US and Europe because they will try to divide you after we win.
Christmas Wishful Thinking…!
… and the big fool says to push on.
The OSCE meeting is going to be a slap in the face of Stoltenberg who will find out that the support for his position is waning.
However, the Ukrainian side is facing a manpower shortage as it has taken heavy casualties. The average age of a Ukrainian soldier is now 43, as many young Ukrainians have been killed or maimed in the war.
Jens isn’t concerned about that. That has been the only consistent thing coming out of this war. Ukrainians dying to weaken Russia. Carry on.
“Ukrainians have been able to inflict heavy losses on Russian forces” – that is true but in the process Ukrainians lost ten times as many soldiers as Russians and what is even more important: Ukraine lost no less than ten millions of it’s citizens who now are the citizens of Russian Federation, and a lot of land into the bargain.
i think that the “course” is supposed to be the taking of Crimea and Donbass by Kiev and puppet-master uncle sam
It’s all nonsense. The aim is to “weaken Russia?” Really? To what end? So that Russia’s thousands of nukes fall into the hands of whatever nightmare set of post-Russia fragments ruled by ex-communists and fascists and mob bosses take control? How is that in the interest of anyone in the west?
It’s all nonsense. This is all about what everything has been about since 1945: war for profit and power. That is it. And the sad sacks in Ukraine are paying the blood bill for these profits.
To weaken Russia is a reasonable goal. If Russia is weak, it would be possible to organize a regime change, as they did it in Ukraine, and bring to power a pro-American government. The problem is that as result of this war, Russia is getting stronger, not weaker; militarily, economically, politically and otherwise. The population increased, the territory also increased, the alliance with China and Iran got stronger. The NATO war in Ukraine is a blunder. It weakened US and EU.
I disagree. Russia is not some run of the mill country that can be controlled as it devolves; it’s a world power and its devolution would be chaotic and uncontrollable by foreign actors. You’d have nukes in Afghanistan and Yemen before you knew it. It would be bad.
But more importantly, that’s not really what the west wants anyway; you can see that by their lukewarm and late support for Ukraine during the war: giving them just enough weapons to never be able to win.
This is just a grift, a con, a racket, like all American wars: a way to transfer $ from tax payers to tax eaters at the top.
To weaken doesn’t mean devolve. Ukraine was weakened but the central government, with the help of US, got stronger.
Unlike US war against Afghanistan and Iraq, US war against Russia is a proxy war. If successful, it would make Putin and his team weaker and the pro-western party in Russia -stronger.
Of course, the war is profitable for US MIC anyway. However, there are no contradictions between the interests of MIC and neocon imperialists.
good points man
Keep killing Ukrainians!
Ex Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko followed the action plan proposed by RAND analysts. The document provided three stages for the conduct of a military operation in eastern Ukraine.
The first stage was implemented which included the total isolation of the region considering that all local citizens are terrorists or sympathizers. The Region was encircled with troops and sealed off entirely from any flow of goods and persons. Broadcasting services, Internet connection, telephone and mobile communications in the region were shut down.
The second stage is the Mop-up which failed miserably as they were defeated militarily. Ground assaults were preceded with air strikes against the strategic facilities in heavily civilian populated areas. The use of non-conventional arms was used, ie chemical weapons, phospherous munitions etc. The document also required internment camps outside the cleared settlements, which of course never occurred. The people featuring in combat engagement were to be tried in court as terrorists.
During the third stage there was suppose to be normal power supplies and communications being restored. The borders were to be strengthened to avoid possible provocations. All the refugees should be checked for possible support for separatists in internment camps.
Famous last words from the bridge of the Titanic.
Thought the EXACT same thing.
I thought civilized countries wanted PEACE? War is the only word, these EU Monsters know.
Jens Stoltenbergis all about keeping his job and the administrative jobs running NATO. Mostly these civilian and military people are funded by America.