THE Ukraine war can last “for years”, warned Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg in an interview published by German daily newspaper Bild today, while reiterating calls for Western countries to provide long-term support to Kyiv.

“We must be prepared for this to last for years,” said the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) secretary-general.

“We must not weaken our support of Ukraine, even if the costs are high – not only in terms of military support, but also the rising energy and food prices.”

He said the food and fuel costs are nothing compared to the one paid daily on the frontlines by Ukrainians, warning “we will have to pay an even greater price” if Russian President Vladimir Putin achieves Moscow’s goals in Ukraine.

Stoltenberg ramped up calls for alliance members to back the war-torn country in its fight against the invasion in the past week.

Repeating his calls for Nato member nations to continue delivering weapons to Kyiv, he said hardware support can increase “the likelihood of Ukraine being able to push troops out of the Donbas region”.

The eastern-most region is currently partly under the control of Russian forces.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and other officials met with about 50 countries of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at Nato headquarters to ask for a surge in weapons and ammunition this week. – AFP, June 19, 2022.