VOA News
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed the need for providing Ukraine with more ammunition and completing pledged deliveries of tanks and other heavy equipment as NATO defense ministers and defense officials from a United States (US)-led group of Ukrainian allies gathered for meetings Tuesday in Brussels.
Stoltenberg told reporters the talks come at a critical time, and that allies would on Tuesday “address the urgent needs for increased support to Ukraine.”
“Next week, we mark the first year of the terrible war in Ukraine, the full-fledged invasion by Russia against Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said.
“And we see no signs that President Putin is preparing for peace. What we see is the opposite — he is preparing for more war, for new offensives and new attacks.”
Stoltenberg said the prospect of allies providing fighter aircraft to Ukraine “is not the most urgent issue now, but it is an ongoing discussion.”
He also said discussions about military aid are not only about providing Ukraine with systems it does not have yet, but also about ensuring the ones it does have are working as they should.
“This has become a grinding war of attrition, and therefore it’s also a battle of logistics and this is a huge effort by allies to actually be able to get in the ammunition, the fuel, the spare parts which are needed,” Stoltenberg said.
At the start of Tuesday’s meeting of the US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Ukraine has “urgent requirements to help it meet this crucial moment in the course of the war” and called on the group to intensify its focus.
“The Kremlin is still betting that it can wait us out,” Austin said.
“But one year on, we are united as ever, and that shared resolve will help sustain Ukraine’s momentum in the weeks ahead and help Ukraine travel the challenging road that lies beyond.”
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleskii Reznikov was in Brussels to take part in both sets of talks in order to communicate his military’s needs.
He tweeted ahead of the meetings that his agenda included seeking more stocks of ammunition, protecting the skies over Ukraine, training for Ukrainian forces and the stability of logistics and maintenance. – gb
