Senior NATO general says Ukraine is not doomed to lose war

US General Christopher Cavoli, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, has stated that Ukraine is not doomed to defeat in the war.

"No, Senator, thank you for the question because I think it’s an important one. There is nothing inevitable in war, and the Ukrainians are in very strong defensive positions right now and are improving weekly their ability to generate force and to reinforce those positions," Cavoli said in response to a question of whether Ukraine is destined to lose.

Meanwhile, he added that it is "hard, sitting here right now, to envision a major Ukrainian offensive" that would clear the Russians "out of every square inch" of Ukraine's territory from Russian occupation.

"But likewise, it’s very hard to envision Ukraine collapsing and losing that conflict. I do not think there’s an inevitability to a Ukrainian loss," the US general said.

Cavoli also agreed that the Ukrainian army has evolved "from a minuteman with a rifle to a really serious modern military force".

The comments by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe came amid reports that the US may for the first time skip a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (also known as the Ramstein Format), which provides military support to Ukraine.

The upcoming Ramstein meeting, which will take place at NATO headquarters in Brussels, will be co-chaired by the UK and Germany.