NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Ukrainian troops were able to break through Russian defences and made progress in the counteroffensive.

As AFP reports, Stoltenberg said during a speech before EU lawmakers that when Russia launched its invasion, its army was considered the second strongest in the world: "Now the Russian army is the second strongest in Ukraine."

"The Ukrainians are gradually gaining ground and it proves the importance of our support and also our ability and willingness to continue the support," Stoltenberg said.

The NATO Secretary General noted the significant mining of the territories, which complicates the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ advance.

"But the Ukrainians decided to launch the offensive because they are going to liberate their land, and they are making progress. Not perhaps as much as we hoped for, but they are gaining ground gradually, some 100 metres per day," Stoltenberg said.

"In hardly any war we will see only victories for the side we support. There will be bad days and good days. We need to be with Ukraine not only (in) good times, but also bad times," he emphasised.

According to the General Secretary, "we support them when they win and if they lose, we are there with Ukraine.":

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Washington sees progress in the Ukrainian counteroffensive, and the US will ensure that Ukraine receives the necessary support both now and in the long term.

Last week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded emotionally to commentators criticising the "too slow" counteroffensive.