NATO Allies should immediately increase military aid to Ukraine - Stoltenberg

NATO Allies should show the political will and urgently increase the supply of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this in Brussels on Thursday at a press conference on the release of his Annual Report 2023, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The Ukrainians are not running out of courage. They are running out of ammunition. Together, we have the capacity to provide Ukraine with what it needs. Now we need to show the political will to do so. All Allies need to dig deep and deliver quickly. Every day of delay has real consequences on the battlefield in Ukraine. So, this is a critical moment. And it would be a grave, historic mistake to allow Putin to prevail," he said.

He noted that unprecedented aid from NATO Allies had helped Ukraine to survive as a sovereign, independent nation. But Ukraine needs even more support, and they need it now, he said.

"NATO Allies are not providing Ukraine with enough ammunition, and that has consequences on the battlefield every day. The fact that the Russians are able to outgun the Ukrainians every day, of course, is a huge challenge. This is one of the reasons why the Russians have been able to make some advances on the battlefield over the last weeks and months. Therefore, it is an urgent need for Allies to make the decisions necessary to provide more ammunition to Ukraine. That's my message to all our capitals," Stoltenberg said.

He also stressed the need to take into account the processes in the U.S. Congress, because the U.S. is the biggest provider of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. At the same time, the United States is not alone here. The European Union and Canada also provide significant military support. However, according to Stoltenberg, the U.S., Canada and Europe can do more.

"We need long-term commitments to enable Ukraine to plan. We have the capacities and the economies to be able to provide Ukraine with what they need. This is a question of political will - to take decisions and to prioritize support for Ukraine. Therefore, we need the decisions to invest more in the defense industry, and we need to ensure that our governments are agreeing on contracts with the defense industry so that they can make commercial decisions to scale up production. And, of course, we need the will from all Allies to then allocate support, ammunition and also all the types of military equipment to Ukraine," he added.