NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg believes that it is still too early to draw conclusions about whether the Ukrainian counteroffensive will be a turning point in the war.

"These are still early days of the counteroffensive, and we don't know if it will be a turning point in the war," he said at a press conference on Wednesday ahead of the NATO defence ministers meeting, as reported by the correspondent of "European Pravda" from Brussels.

However, he added that Ukrainian forces are advancing and liberating more occupied territories. According to Stoltenberg, Ukraine's progress on the battlefield will strengthen Kyiv's negotiating position.

"The more land the Ukrainians are able to liberate, the stronger their hand will be at the negotiating table and the more likely it is that Russian President Vladimir Putin will understand that he will never win and he cannot engage in negotiations for a just peace," the Secretary General added.

According to him, Ukraine's progress demonstrates that NATO support makes a real difference on the battlefield.

Earlier, Stoltenberg stated that the Ukrainian forces' advance into the occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine, which are under Russian occupation, has shown initial signs of success.