War in Ukraine could last years, NATO chief

From the very beginning, I have the strongest belief that Russia-Ukraine conflict has been instigated by the United States to weaken one of the largest crude oil producing country. I also have sympathy with the people of Ukraine who have been dragged in this war by offering a ‘lollipop’. NATO/European Union membership. 

While no efforts have been made by United States to solicit ceasefire, tons of ‘outdated’ arsenals have been hurdled into Ukraine. My faith gained further strength after reading one of the statements Head of NATO, “War in Ukraine could last for years’.    

Reportedly, the Head of NATO said on Sunday, the war in Ukraine could last for years, as Russia stepped up its assaults after the European Union recommended that Kyiv become a candidate to join the bloc.

Jens Stoltenberg said supplying state-of-the-art weaponry to Ukrainian troops would boost the chance of freeing its eastern region of Donbas from Russian control, Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported.

"We must prepare for the fact that it could take years. We must not let up in supporting Ukraine," Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of the military alliance, was quoted as saying.

"Even if the costs are high, not only for military support, also because of rising energy and food prices."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited Kyiv on Friday, also spoke of a need to prepare for a long war.

This meant ensuring "Ukraine receives weapons, equipment, ammunition and training more rapidly than the invader," Johnson wrote in an opinion piece in London's Sunday Times.

"Time is the vital factor," he wrote. "Everything will depend on whether Ukraine can strengthen its ability to defend its soil faster than Russia can renew its capacity to attack."

Ukraine received a significant boost on Friday when the European Commission recommended it for candidate status, decision EU nations are expected to endorse at a summit this week.

That would put Ukraine on course to realize an aspiration seen as out of reach before Russia's February 24 invasion, even if membership could take years.

The industrial city of Sievierodonetsk, a prime target in Moscow's offensive to seize full control of Luhansk — one of the two provinces making up the Donbas — faced heavy artillery and rocket fire again, the Ukrainian military said.

"Russian forces will likely be able to seize Sievierodonetsk in the coming weeks, but at the cost of concentrating most of their available forces in this small area," analysts at a Washington-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, wrote in a note.

Serhiy Gaidai, the Ukrainian appointed Governor of Luhansk, told Ukrainian television, "All Russian claims that they control the town are a lie. They control the main part of the town, but not the whole town."

In the twin city of Lysychansk across the river, Gaidai said on the Telegram messaging app, residential buildings and private houses had been destroyed, adding, "People are dying on the streets and in bomb shelters."

Ukraine's military acknowledged that "the enemy has partial success in the village of Metolkine," just southeast of Sievierodonetsk.

Russia's state news agency TASS said many Ukrainian fighters had surrendered in Metolkine, citing a source working for Russian-backed separatists.

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's stated goals in ordering troops into Ukraine was to halt the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance and keep Moscow's southern neighbour outside the West's sphere of influence.

However, the Western media continue to say, the war has killed thousands, reduced cities to rubble and sent millions fleeing. It is having opposite effect — convincing Finland and Sweden to seek to join NATO — and helping to pave the way for Ukraine's EU membership bid.