Not too late for Ukraine to prevail - Stoltenberg
This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a joint press conference with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“I know that serious delays in support have meant serious consequences on the battlefield. For months, the U.S. was unable to agree a package. And European Allies have been unable to deliver ammunition at the scale we promised. Ukraine has been outgunned for months – forced to ration its ammunition. This means that fewer Russian missiles and drones have been shot down. And Russia has been able to push forward along the front line. But it is not too late for Ukraine to prevail. More support is on the way,” he said.
Stoltenberg assured that the members of the Alliance heard the call from President Zelensky at the Ukraine-NATO Council and agreed to increase their support, mentioning as examples the approval of a new aid package in the USA, the announcement of the largest package from the UK, the transfer of an additional air defense system from Germany, and the increase in the contributions from the Netherlands.
The NATO secretary general expects new announcements on aid supply from the allies in the near future, stressing that NATO members must choose to help Ukraine when there is a choice between doing so and meeting NATO’s capability targets.
"Stocks can and will be replenished. Lives lost can never be regained. To replenish our stocks, we need to produce more. So I welcome that Allies are stepping up defense production, and also working to produce together with Ukraine," Stoltenberg noted.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, following the meeting with Stoltenberg, President Zelensky announced that NATO could create a special Fund for the financial support of Ukrainian defenses in the amount of EUR 100 billion.