Ukraine has great strategy for waging war against Russia, NATO general says

General Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, has stated that Ukraine has a "great strategy" for waging war against Russia, although the course of hostilities is becoming increasingly challenging to predict.

As reported by Voice of America, General Cavoli stressed during a discussion at the Aspen Institute that the course of the war would depend on the ability to "generate force", particularly which side will be able to accumulate "high-quality force fastest and take advantage of that while they have a window of opportunity".

The general noted that Ukrainians are currently generating such force and skilfully building their strategy: "The Ukrainians, right now, for these past few months, have been focused on defending what they have in the east, denying Russia the free use of Crimea and southern Ukraine to attack Ukraine, preserving their access to the Black Sea and generating force. So I think they've got a great strategy."

Cavoli said a key part of Ukraine's "force generation" now depends on the EU and NATO: "That's going to require us to generate and produce more equipment than we were contemplating perhaps two years ago."

The general stressed that "the outcome on the ground in Ukraine is vital to future European and global security", adding that the world should "not be under any illusions" about the end of the war in Ukraine.

"At the end of the conflict [war – ed.] in Ukraine, however it concludes, we are going to have a very big Russia problem. We are going to have a situation where Russia is reconstituting its force, is located on the borders of NATO, is led by largely the same people as it is right now, is convinced that we are the adversary, and is very, very angry," the general said, adding that the West should be prepared for this.

Earlier, Cavoli noted that NATO countries were "ready for collective territorial defence" but needed more military equipment.

For his part, General Eirik Kristoffersen, the Head of Norwegian Armed Forces, believes that the NATO ‘window of opportunity’ to prepare for a possible confrontation with Russia has shrunk to two to three years.