Western nations need to brace for a long “war of attrition” in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General warned following White House talks with US President Joe Biden.

“We just have to be prepared for the long haul. Because what we see is that this war has now become a war of attrition.

Ukrainians are paying a high price for defending their own country on the battlefield, but also we see that Russia is taking high casualties”, - said Jens Stoltenberg.

While reiterating that NATO does not want to enter a direct confrontation with Russia, he said the Western military alliance has a “responsibility” to support Ukraine.

“Most wars - also, most likely this war - will at some stage end at the negotiating table, but what we know is that what happens around the negotiating table is very closely linked to the situation on the ground, on the battlefield”, - he said.

Asked if Ukraine was being pressured by the West to accept losses of territory in order to negotiate peace, Stoltenberg said “it’s not for us to decide or to have strong opinions [on] what Ukraine should accept or not accept”.