NATO Chief: Ukraine A War of Logistics, Don’t Underestimate Russia 

By Staff, Agencies 

With the conflict in Ukraine becoming a “war of attrition,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg cautioned that the West should “not underestimate” Russia’s firepower advantage.  

Stoltenberg further mentioned that the Western bloc is stepping up ammo production, but was unable to define its end goal in Ukraine. 

Speaking to CNN’s Christine Amanpour at the Munich Security Conference, Stoltenberg said that Russia has thus far been able to bring more ammunition and manpower to the frontline than Ukraine. 

Ukraine’s ammo consumption is “higher than [NATO’s] total production,” he continued, adding that this situation “cannot continue.” 

“So far we have depleted our stocks, but at some stage we need to get more ammunition produced,” he told Amanpour. 

Stoltenberg has repeatedly called on NATO members to step up their ammunition production to close the gap, as have other Western leaders.  

While Stoltenberg was clear about the need for NATO to step up arms production, he was vague about how the US-led alliance wants the conflict to end. He told Amanpour that “nobody knows how and when this war will end,” and that it will “maybe” be resolved at the negotiating table. 

Stoltenberg said that NATO will allow Ukraine to define what “winning” would look like, but would not directly say that he endorses Kiev’s stated goal of seizing the Russian territory of Crimea.