Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO, said on Thursday that Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which plodded in its early days and reclaimed little territory from the Russians, was steadily progressing.
“The Ukrainians are gradually gaining ground,” he said, addressing members of the European Parliament. “And it proves the importance of our support and also our ability and willingness to continue the support, because this is heavy fighting, difficult fighting, but they have been able to breach the defense lines of the Russian forces, and they are moving forward.”
The Ukrainian military, which has been fighting to reclaim land in the south and the east of the country, has been slowly breaking through Russia’s initial defensive lines in the occupied south. In recent days, the army has been battling to break through Russian positions near Verbove, about six miles east of the village of Robotyne, which fighters retook last week, military analysts say.
Last week, the United States commended the “notable progress” of Ukrainian forces in their counteroffensive push further south, and reaffirmed their soldiers for fighting “bravely and courageously.”
Mr. Stoltenberg added that NATO had spoken with Romanian authorities about debris from what could be a Russian drone that landed in Romania on Wednesday.
“We don’t have any information indicating any intentional attack by Russia,” he said. “And we are awaiting the outcome of the ongoing investigation.”
Regardless, Mr. Stoltenberg added, NATO has been increasing its vigilance in the area because of previous attacks near NATO borders, including the Ukrainian town of Izmail, which is less than 200 yards from Romanian territory and was blasted again by Russian drones on Tuesday.
“We are closely monitoring what’s going on close to our borders,” he said. “And we have also increased our presence in the eastern part of the Alliance.”
