In an interview published on Sunday, September 17, 2023, Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary-General cautioned that the ongoing war in Ukraine will last for a longer period.

Stoltenberg asserted that most wars last longer than expected when they first begin.

“Therefore we must prepare ourselves for a long war in Ukraine,” he added.

Kyiv launched its counteroffensive in June, pushing back against entrenched Russian positions in the south and east. However, it has made limited gains.

Stoltenberg also opined that Ukraine has to persist in its fight in order to maintain its existence as a country.

“We are all wishing for a quick peace,” Stoltenberg stressed.

“But at the same time we must recognise: if President [Volodymyr] Zelenskiy and the Ukrainians stop fighting, their country will no longer exist. If President Putin and Russia lay down their weapons, we will have peace.”
Jens Stoltenberg

Commenting on Ukraine’s ambitions to join the alliance, Stoltenberg remarked, “There is no doubt that Ukraine will eventually be in NATO.”

According to a news agency, Stoltenberg said that Kyiv had “moved closer to NATO” at the alliance’s summit in July.

“When this war ends, we need security guarantees for Ukraine. Otherwise, history could repeat itself,” he added.

At the July summit in Vilnius, NATO leaders agreed that Ukraine could join the alliance once certain conditions are met, and US and German officials made it clear that these would include Kyiv carrying out reforms to protect democracy and the rule of law.

Russia Hits Odesa With Drones And Missiles

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Sunday that Russia launched six Iranian-made Shahed drones and 10 cruise missiles at the southern parts of the Odesa region, where they reportedly hit an agriculture facility.

It said six drones and six missiles were destroyed before they could hit their target.

“Fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, mobile fire groups and other means of attack were involved in repelling the air attack,” the air force said.

The extent of the damage was not immediately known, and it was not clear what facility was hit.

The situation in Odesa and its ports has been watched carefully by grain markets, as Kyiv said on Saturday that two cargo vessels arrived there to use a temporary corridor to sail into Black Sea ports and load grain for African and Asian markets.

Also, Oryol’s regional Governor, Andrei Klychkov announced on Telegram that a Ukrainian drone damaged an oil depot in southwestern Russia early on Sunday.

He added that the drone attack sparked a fire at a fuel tank that was later extinguished.

“There are no casualties; all emergency services are working on the territory of the facility,” Klychkov said.

Additionally, in the Moscow region, a drone was destroyed over the Istra district and another over the Ramensky district, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.

Sobyanin noted that there were no casualties or damage from drone debris.

At least 30 flights were delayed and six cancelled at Moscow’s airports, Russian state news agencies disclosed.

This is a frequent move by aviation authorities during drone strikes.

Five civilians were killed and one wounded in Ukrainian shelling of the Donetsk region, a Russian-installed official in the eastern region of Ukraine says.

Russia claims to have destroyed six Ukrainian drones en route to the Crimean Peninsula.

According to a Russian news agency, the Defence Ministry disclosed that the drones were stopped off the western, northwestern and eastern coasts of the Black Sea peninsula.

The five were killed in the Kirov and Kuibyshevskyi districts on Saturday, and a woman was injured in Svetlodarsk, Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed head of the region, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.