Russian progress in Ukraine is "still quite limited," and it is "not too late" for Kyiv to win, NATO's top military official said on May 8.
Lieutenant Admiral Rob Bauer, the chair of the NATO Military Committee, said the most important thing now was that members of the military alliance continue to send aid.
"And the longer the war lasts, the more difficult that becomes," he told VRT Canvas, adding: "Many countries have been supplying weapons and ammunition from their own stocks for two years, but they are not endless either."
Bauer said delays in Western aid were having serious but not irreversible consequences on the battlefield.
Russian forces captured Avdiivka in February and have now shifted their focus toward Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, an elevated town that potentially opens the way to further advances into the oblast.
"It is not too late for Ukraine. The Russians have made progress, but it is still quite limited and still not strategic," he said.
Bauer also stressed the need for NATO countries to up their defense production.
"It will probably take at least a year to really achieve increased production in the West. We will have to bridge that period so that Ukraine can prepare for the next counter-offensive. But that will not be easy. There are 450,000 Russians in the occupied part of Ukraine."
In January, Bauer said civilians in NATO countries should be prepared for the prospect of an all-out war with Russia in the next 20 years.
Such a conflict would require the large-scale mobilization of civilians and the industrial base across the alliance, Bauer said.
"We have to realize it's not a given that we are in peace. And that's why we (NATO) are preparing for a conflict with Russia," he added.
Chris York
