Russia should not be underestimated: NATO chief

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said that Russia should not be underestimated and that Ukraine needs immediate military supply.

Speaking to reporters on the way to the informal meeting of EU defense ministers in Stockholm, Sweden, Stoltenberg said that it cannot be ruled out that the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut “may eventually fall in the coming days.”

However, he said that it would not “necessarily reflect any turning point of the war.”

“It just highlights that we should not underestimate Russia,” he stressed, urging NATO and EU countries to continue supplying Ukraine with military aid.

Stoltenberg and EU defense ministers will discuss plans on ramping up production of the European defense industry.

“The current rate of consumption compared to the current rate of production of ammunition is not sustainable,” he said.

In addition to the “important steps” already taken by NATO, “we need to do more because we need to ensure that Ukraine gets its needs to defend itself against Russia’s war aggression, and we need to replenish our own stocks,” he added.