NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance’s foreign ministers, meeting today and tomorrow in Brussels, will discuss a multi-year financial commitment to maintain support for Ukrainian.
He emphasized that the NATO must change the dynamics of support for Ukraine. “We need to ensure reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine for a long time,” he said, adding that we should “rely less on voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments.” He explained that the foreign ministers will discuss how NATO could take more responsibility for coordinating military equipment and training for Ukraine. He also said a multi-year commitment to maintain support for Ukraine would be discussed.
At the same time, he clarified that no decision is expected at today’s NATO Ministerial Meeting and that the goal is to make the decisions at the NATO Summit that will take place in July in Washington.
Continuing, G. Stoltenberg said that “Moscow must understand that it cannot achieve its goals on the battlefield” and that strong support for Ukraine will send the message to Russia that it cannot win the war.
He also noted that tomorrow, Thursday, the NATO-Ukraine Council will be held, in the presence of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and a multi-year aid program for Ukraine will be discussed. He also added that NATO supports Ukraine’s reform efforts to get closer to the North Atlantic Alliance and emphasized: “Ukraine will become a member of NATO. It’s a question of when, not if.”
The NATO secretary general noted, finally, that in recent days the Kremlin has launched new major attacks in Ukraine, hitting civilians and infrastructure. “We must stand firm in our support for Ukraine. I welcome the fact that the Allies continue to make significant deliveries of arms, ammunition and equipment. But Ukraine has urgent needs. Any delay in providing support is having consequences on the battlefield as we speak.”
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