NATO predicts a “second stage” in the war in Ukraine – a more complicated and bloody one

The Alliance believes that Russia is ready to embark on a new stage of the war. With that, there will be a wider front and more casualties.

Militarnyi informs about it.

This opinion was expressed by Mircea Joane, NATO Deputy Secretary-General, in an interview with Digi24, Ukrainian Pravda reports.

The relaunch of the offensive operation by Russia is inevitable, Joane said. This is building upon Putin’s desire to achieve results by May 9.

He added that there are all signs of regrouping, replenishment of losses suffered by the invaders at the beginning of the war, as well as finding solutions for the logistics-related problems.

“We’re stepping into the second stage, a more complicated one and completely different in nature from, unfolding in a lot wider territory, both in the East, namely Donbas, and in the South, namely Crimea and Mariupol. Thus, based on our estimations, we’re getting into an even more difficult second stage of this conflict, which is now becoming lingering,” stated the Deputy Secretary-General of NATO.

Mircea Joane added that the relaunch of hostilities is expected to take place within a much larger front. This is a military component that would be more similar to the “classic war”. This would mean that there will be casualties among the civilian population.

In addition, the NATO Deputy Secretary-General noted that there was a “conscious difference” in the way the fighting took place in Kyiv and the Southern regions.

The attack on the capital was a “temporary invasion” to divert the Ukrainian army, whereas in the Southern regions Russia has intentions to stay.

“It’s completely different, in terms of the intensity and severity of the attacks, in the areas that the Russians would want to keep after this war, so the difference is in how they are treating the residents. This is practically an attempt to create a new reality, including from the population standpoint,” Joanne said.

According to the NATO Deputy Secretary-General, the Allies continue to support Ukraine. At the same time, they are considering the new needs of the Ukrainian army to repel new enemy attacks.

“If in the first part of the war, we all were witnessing the Javelins and anti-tank weapons, this second part of the war will be different in its quality, intensity, and consistency, so it is natural that we will be helping Ukraine prepare to this stage of the war,” said the NATO official.

Ukraine needs to be achieving results in battling the enemy from the longer distances. It also needs more protective armor, more equipment, and more capacity.

Previously, the transfer of NASAMS and NSM attack missiles was reported to be discussed in Norway. Slovakia confirms the negotiations on selling Zuzana ACS to Ukraine. Additionally, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom promised anti-ship weapons and equipment. This regards the armored fighting vehicles and anti-ship missiles.