BRUSSELS (AP) – Russia is preparing for an extended war, so NATO must prepare “for the long term” and support Ukraine for as long as necessary, the alliance’s deputy secretary-general told military leaders from across Europe on Wednesday.
Opening the meeting of military chiefs here, Mircea Geoana said NATO countries need to invest more in defense, ramp up military industrial manufacturing and use new technologies to prepare for future wars.
As Russia’s war against Ukraine nears the end of a year, NATO chiefs are expected to discuss how allies can expand arms, training and support supplies to Ukraine in the coming months, and how to further strengthen their own defenses .
“We have no indication that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s goals have changed,” Geoana said, adding that Russia had mobilized more than 200,000 additional troops. “So we have to be prepared for the long term. 2023 will be a difficult year and we must support Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
US Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, quietly met with Ukraine’s Chief Military Officer Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi on Tuesday at an undisclosed location in southeastern Poland, near the Ukrainian border. And he is expected to share Zaluzhnyi’s concerns with other military leaders at the meeting.
Milley’s meeting with Zaluzhnyi was quickly arranged when it became clear on Monday that the Ukraine chief would not be able to attend NATO meetings in person. He is expected to attend via video conference on Thursday.
Army Col. Dave Butler, Milley’s spokesman, said the chairman plans to describe to NATO chiefs “the tactical and operational conditions on the battlefield and the needs of the military thereto.”
Admiral Rob Bauer, the chairman of NATO’s military committee, told the gathering of chiefs on Wednesday that the alliance must continue to transform to withstand future combat.
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“The war also showed us that you have to be able to fight tomorrow’s battles today and yesterday’s battles,” said Bauer, who is with the Royal Netherlands Navy. “Modern warfare is as much about bits and bots as it is about mud and blood.”
He pointed out that the NATO-Russia Council held its last meeting about a year ago.
“Back then we could still sit at a table,” he said, adding that now, after Russia’s brutal invasion and the war in Ukraine, “the world is a different place.”
NATO, he said, has demonstrated that it can quickly increase and relocate its military presence whenever and wherever it is needed. And he reiterated the pledge that the alliance stands ready to support Ukraine for as long as needed.
Putin, he said, “underestimated the scale and courage of the Ukrainian people, armed forces and leadership, and underestimated our unity and solidarity with Ukraine.” That alliance support, he said, has made a difference on the battlefield and will continue to do so.