NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: The war in Ukraine is entering a critical phase

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the war in Ukraine is entering a critical phase.

He stated this at a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

"The war in Ukraine is entering a critical phase. Ukrainian forces have been able to stall Moscow’s offensive in Donbas, strike back behind Russian lines and retake territory," Stoltenberg said.

NATO Secretary General emphasized: that if Russia stops fighting, there will be peace, but if Ukraine stops fighting, then it will cease to exist as an independent state.

Stoltenberg warned that Ukraine and NATO should "be ready for long-term measures," but called on allies to continue providing support to Ukraine.

• In general, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated more than 20 settlements in the Kharkiv direction (in particular, Balaklia with a population of 30,000) and penetrated the enemyʼs defense to a depth of up to 50 kilometers. Cleaning is ongoing in a number of settlements. In the Kramatorsk direction, the Armed Forces of Ukraine improved their tactical position and advanced up to 2 kilometers deep. During the offensive in the Slovyansk direction, the village of Ozerne, Donetsk region, was liberated up to three kilometers away.