NATO chief warns settlement condition for war 'not there now,' Russia will regroup

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday warned that the conditions for a peaceful settlement to the ongoing catastrophic Russian offensive in Ukraine are “not there now” as he added, that Russian troops will  "regroup for the bigger offensive." Stoltenberg urged that the Western nations must continue to provide weapons to Kyiv amid the harsh winters, viewed in a positive light for the Russian soldiers' strategic gain, even as it gets harder for soldiers elsewhere to dig trenches and do combat in freezing temperatures.  Russian forces, instead, will make a comeback for the spring offensive as they will regroup, the NATO chief warned Ukraine. 

Winters mean a 'renewed assault'

Russians are pummeling the city of Bakhmut fiercely as the Ukrainian forces try to consolidate their gains to the north. A retired US Army general who commanded US forces in Europe between 2014 and 2018, although, told REFL that the harsh winters, from a material standpoint, could still prove to be a challenge for the newly mobilized Russian soldiers, who may not be properly equipped, with no cohesive units, or leadership. This could get Ukrainians an upper edge as swaths of northeastern and eastern Ukraine is blanketed in thick snow. 

But the NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned that winters mean a "renewed assault" next year as Russian troops will build up their forces over these months. 

"What we see now is that Russia is actually attempting to try to have some kind of freeze of this war, at least for a short period of time, so they can regroup, repair, recover and then try to launch a bigger offensive next spring," Stoltenberg warned at a Global Broadroom event hosted by the Financial Times.

NATO chief reiterated that the conditions [for talks] are not there now because Russia "has shown no sign of engaging in negotiations which are respecting the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine." He furthermore noted that it is for Ukrainians to decide when the time is right to start to negotiate and to agree on the conditions. “Most wars and most likely also this war will end at the negotiating table," he stressed. Earlier this week, US president Joe Biden also indicated that he is willing to talk with Vladimir Putin about the Russian leader’s willingness to end the conflict after he held a discussion with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron who pitched for negotiation with Putin to end the 10-month-long conflict.