NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned of impending "bad news" coming out of Ukraine in its ongoing conflict against Russia, part of a call for the West to maintain its support of Kyiv.
Stoltenberg made the comments during an interview with German broadcaster ARD on Saturday. The NATO chief didn't elaborate, but his warning came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military to add another 170,000 troops. It came two days before the White House said it was "out of money" to support Ukraine past the end of the year.
"Wars develop in phases," Stoltenberg told ARD. "We have to support Ukraine in both good and bad times. We should also be prepared for bad news."
Congressional Republicans and Democrats are in negotiations over President Joe Biden's proposed $106 billion aid package for our allies — including Israel and Taiwan — which includes $61 billion for Ukraine. However, Republicans are demanding border policy changes before they agree on the aid package.
"The one thing we do know is that the more we support Ukraine, the faster this war will end," Stoltenberg said. "We must realize that a victory for President Putin would be a tragedy for Ukraine, but it would also be dangerous for us. It is in our own interest to make everything possible for Ukraine to win."
Further, Stoltenberg extolled Ukraine's ability, so far, to keep open shipping lanes in the Black Sea, even if that has meant little change on the front lines.
"The Ukrainians have been able to inflict heavy losses on Russian forces by attacking with missiles deep behind the front lines, destroying airplanes and helicopters and pushing the Russian Black Sea Fleet into the eastern Black Sea," Stoltenberg said. "That means they will now be able to keep the sea lane open for ships carrying grain from Ukraine through the Black Sea. So, these are big victories, even if they haven't been able to advance on the front lines."
Congress allocated $111 billion to assist Ukraine, including $67 billion in military procurement funding, $27 billion for economic and civil assistance, and $10 billion for humanitarian aid. However, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young sent a letter to congressional leaders Monday saying that all but 3% of that has been depleted.
"We are out of money to support Ukraine in this fight," Young wrote. "This isn't a next year problem. The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now. It is time for Congress to act."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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