Brussels, 14 June 2023 (MIA) - Ukraine’s ongoing counter-offensive is making advances, but it is still early days, and we do not know if this will be a turning point of the war, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday. 

"We see that the Ukrainians are making advances and liberating more land. We know that the more gains Ukraine makes, the stronger their hand will be at the negotiating table," Stoltenberg told a press conference ahead of the NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

NATO Defence Ministers are meeting in Brussels to prepare for the Vilnius Summit in July.

"The more gains Ukraine makes, the more likely it will be that President Putin realises he cannot win on the battlefield, but has to negotiate a just peace," Stoltenberg added. 

He also announced that Defence Ministers are expected to agree on establishing a new NATO Maritime Centre for the Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure within MARCOM, the NATO Maritime Command in the UK. 

Stoltenberg said that ministers would address stepping up support for Ukraine, and strengthening deterrence and defence including with new regional plans.