(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Dragone said this in an interview with the BBC, according to Ukrinform.

According to him, from an operational point of view, the war between Russia and Ukraine has reached an impasse, and“the time has practically come for negotiations, because this is a waste of human lives.”

Despite Russia's slow, gradual progress on the battlefield, Dragone considers this war a strategic defeat for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

The NATO admiral points to the fact that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to two more countries joining the Alliance - Finland and Sweden.

“They [the Russians] will not get a friendly or puppet government [in Ukraine], as in Belarus. Putin will not succeed,” Dragone added.

When asked whether European countries are ready to continue supporting Ukraine's defense, the admiral replied in the affirmative. He expressed confidence that the events in Ukraine have become a wake-up call for them, and now they are taking responsibility for their own defense.

The admiral also commented on Russia's recent statements about the development of two new types of weapons with nuclear power plants - the Burevestnik missile and the Poseidon autonomous underwater vehicle.

“This does not scare us. We are simply ready to defend our 32 countries and our billion people. We remain a nuclear alliance,” Dragone said.

The admiral also shared his thoughts on the risk of future invasions or attacks. If this happens, Dragone said, the Baltic countries-Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania-are most likely to be targeted. But in that case, Article 5 of the alliance's charter will come into effect and NATO countries will come to their defense, the admiral said.

At the same time, Dragone is confident that the US will also participate in a possible defense operation.“Yes, because they have made this commitment and emphasized that they are still in the game,” he added.

Regarding NATO's current needs, Admiral Dragone said that air defense is a priority. Recent incursions by Russian drones into Poland and Romania have prompted the Alliance to modernize its air defenses.

Dragone promised that a“wall against drones” would appear in Europe within a few months.

"There are many things on the market that meet our immediate needs, so we have created a new program called 'Eastern Guard,' which will integrate all the air defense assets we already have on our eastern flank. Airspace violations occur quite often, we repel the violators, and that's basically where it ends," the admiral said.

Despite no signs that Russia is changing course on the war in Ukraine and signs that some Alliance members, such as Slovakia and Hungary, are increasingly opposed to supporting Ukraine's defense, Admiral Dragone ended his remarks on a positive note.

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“The Alliance is reliable, it is mature, and it has a cohesion that is our center of gravity. The Alliance is stronger than our adversaries, and we will remain with Ukraine until the day peace comes,” he added.

As reported by Ukrinform, Dragone previously stated that NATO is ready to consider tightening the rules of engagement on its eastern flank to make it easier to shoot down Russian aircraft that have invaded the Alliance's airspace.

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