NATO countries to strengthen and sustain military support to Ukraine – Stoltenberg

During a ministerial meeting in Brussels on Thursday, NATO Allies agreed to further strengthen and sustain support to Ukraine, namely military support.

The relevant statement was made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“And it was a clear message from the meeting today that Allies should do more, and are ready to do more, to provide more equipment, and they realise and recognise the urgency,” Stoltenberg said, adding that Allies are ready to do more when it comes to military support.

In his words, in the course of the meeting, the ministers agreed that “we must further strengthen and sustain our support to Ukraine. So that Ukraine prevails in the face of Russia’s invasion”.

According to Stoltenberg, Allies “are determined to do more. Now, and for the medium and longer term. To help the brave Ukrainians defend their homes and their country, and push back the invading forces”.

In addition, NATO countries are stepping up humanitarian aid and financial support. They also discussed what more they would do, including cybersecurity assistance and providing equipment to help Ukraine protect against chemical and biological threats.

As for military support, NATO countries expressed readiness to provide more equipment and are closely discussing these issues with the Ukrainian side.

According to Stoltenberg, Allies believe it is better often to not be specific exactly about what kinds of weapons systems are provided to Ukraine.

“But rest assured Allies are providing a wide range of different weapons systems, both Soviet era systems but also modern equipment,” Stoltenberg stressed.

In his words, distinction between offensive and defensive weapons is a bit strange, “because we speak about providing weapons to a country which is defending itself and self defence is a right which is enshrined in the UN Charter”.

“So everything Ukraine does with the support from NATO Allies is defensive because they are defending themselves. And of course, they need different types of weapons. And Allies are providing them with different types of weapons and we see the impact of these weapons on the battleground every day. Because the Ukrainians have been able to inflict severe losses on the invading Russian forces,” Stoltenberg added.

During the ministerial meeting, NATO countries also utterly condemned the horrific atrocities committed by Russian troops against civilians and stressed the importance of bringing all those responsible to justice.

A reminder that, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting a war. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities, launching missile and air strikes on residential areas in Ukrainian cities and villages, torturing and murdering civilians.

Photo: NATO

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