For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails

       Please enter a valid email address

       Please enter a valid email address

       SIGN UP

       I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

       Thanks for signing up to the

       Breaking News email

       {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

       Nato’s secretary general has warned Ukraine it is in for a “long war” with Russia while a Kyiv chief has called for the swift provision of weapons to halt Vladimir Putin’s forces.

       Ukraine has been continuing its counteroffensive, claiming to have taken the eastern village of Klishchiivka. Kyiv soldiers reportedly continued their counteroffensive on Sunday, using drones to disrupt air traffic in Moscow and causing a fire at an oil depot in the southwest of Russia.

       Read our live blog of events in Ukraine and Russia here.

       Ukraine has not yet commented on the attacks. In addition, an anti-Moscow guerilla group claims to have destroyed two Russian vehicles in Kherson.

       Russia has also been on the attack, striking an agriculture facility in Odessa on Sunday. It has also been reported that a farm worker has died and another left injured in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region after their tractor hit a mine while ploughing a field.

       Recommended Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin ‘creating hedgehog defences’ as Kyiv drones target Crimea and Moscow Biden's national security adviser holds two days of talks in Malta with China's foreign minister First two cargo ships arrive in Ukrainian port after Russia's exit from grain deal

       The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (Nato) chief Jens Stoltenberg told German media on Sunday that he could see no sign of the Kremlin giving up.

       “Most wars last longer than expected when they first begin,” he said in an interview with Germany’s Funke media.

       “Therefore we must prepare ourselves for a long war in Ukraine.”

       The head of Ukraine’s security council has also shared his thoughts on what is needed for the war to come to an end sooner rather than later.

       Ukrainian servicemen fire a M109 self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops in Donetsk

       (Reuters)

       Oleksiy Danilov said on Sunday: “Refusing or delaying the transfer of modern weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces is a direct encouragement to the Kremlin to continue the war, not the other way around.”

       He spoke as Mr Stoltenberg urged Germany to increase its defence spending by an even greater proportion than the 2 per cent target set by chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2024.

       Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video

       Sign up now for a 30-day free trial

       Sign up

       Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video

       Sign up now for a 30-day free trial

       Sign up

       The Nato chief said: “During the Cold War, when Konrad Adenauer or Willy Brandt governed, defence expenditures consisted of 3 to 4 per cent of economic output.

       “We did it back then and we must do it again.”

       Mr Kim and Mr Putin shake hands

       (AP)

       The Nato secretary’s comments came as South Korea’s president shared a warning over the increasing ties between Russia and North Korea.

       Kim Jong Un travelled to Russia last week for a summit with Mr Putin. But away from the images of the pair touring high-profile military and technology sites, insiders fear that Mr Kim might be in discussions about providing ammunition to Mr Putin’s troops.

       “Military cooperation between North Korea and Russia is illegal and unjust as it contravenes UN Security Council resolutions and various other international sanctions,” South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol said.

       “The international community will unite more tightly in response to such a move.”

       Recommended

       Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has insisted that Washington “controls” the war in Ukraine, on the sidelines of a domestic economic forum in Vladivostok.

       “No matter what it says, it controls this war, it supplies weapons, munition, intelligence information, data from satellites, it is pursuing a war against us,” he claimed.

       More about Ukraine Secretary General Russia Nato Kyiv Vladimir Putin

       Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

       Comments

       1/ 3Nato chief warns Putin eyes ‘long war’ as Ukraine claims village

       Nato chief warns Putin eyes ‘long war’ as Ukraine claims village

       Ukrainian servicemen fire a M109 self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops in Donetsk

       REUTERS/Anna Voitenko

       Nato chief warns Putin eyes ‘long war’ as Ukraine claims village

       Mr Kim and Mr Putin shake hands

       AP

       Nato chief warns Putin eyes ‘long war’ as Ukraine claims village

       A Ukrainian serviceman walks through broken trees at the frontline a few kilometers from Andriivka

       AP

       ？ Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article

       Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

       Subscribe

       Already subscribed? Log in