Ukraine Is Threatened With The Toughest Winter, Rutte: NATO Must And Do More

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. (Source: NATO)

JAKARTA - Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday said Ukraine may face the most challenging winter since the war with Russia began in 2022.

Rutte called on NATO allies to increase their arms supply to support Kyiv, ahead of what he described as a potentially brutal winter campaign.

"NATO must and will do more to help Ukraine," said Rutte, quoted by Anadolu, October 9.

"Russia continues to carry out massive attacks on Ukraine's important energy infrastructure. Ukraine may face its toughest winter since the full-scale invasion begins," he said.

"The more military support we provide, the sooner this war will end," he added.

Rutte, who took office as head of NATO this month, stressed the need for sustainable military and humanitarian support for Ukraine.

His comments followed his visit to Kyiv last week, in which he assessed the situation on the ground and discussed further NATO assistance with Ukrainian officials.

Rutte admits the situation on the battlefield remains "difficult" for Ukraine, especially as Russian forces make additional profits in the eastern region. However, he stressed these advances must be paid dearly by Moscow.

"We must also take into account that Russia's losses are enormous. As far as we know, they are now about 1,000 people killed and injured every day," Rutte said, adding that the total Russian casualties since the start of the war had reached around 500,000 people killed or injured.