Ukraine should not have supply problems in winter conditions and Western countries must supply not only weapons, but also other things necessary for the normal functioning of the country, Defense Minister Artis Pabriks (AP) told the LETA agency, who attended the defense meeting Wednesday in Oslo the ministers of the Northern Group.
The meeting discussed the provision of future military assistance to Ukraine, as well as the need to invest in an international fund. Funds from non-European countries could also be attracted to this fund.
Continuing on the support of Western countries to Ukraine, Pabriks stressed that one should think not only about the supply of weapons and armaments, but also about the things that the country needs to function, because, for example, Ukraine currently has problems of electrical power.
“It is essential that we can ensure that the Ukrainian army is not freezing, is fed, combat-ready and that the soldiers can withstand this winter and be superior to the Russian army. Ukraine must not have any supply problems in winter conditions, we must ensure this,” the minister stressed, while adding that most of the countries of the northern group are the most active supporters of Ukraine.
At the same time, the minister noted that although providing support to Ukraine for Western countries is a matter of political will, the military industry’s capability has not been planned for this type of warfare in recent decades, and Western countries are not were able to quickly change the situation.
This means that Latvia should use this time to develop its military production, and it should also be taken into account that Russia will eventually recover from losses in Ukraine.
The Nordic Group is an informal cooperation forum comprising the Nordic countries, the Baltic countries, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands and Great Britain. Group members are united by the goal of developing joint defense cooperation projects.
Meetings of the Northern Group’s defense ministers are held twice a year. Every six months, the leadership of the Nordic Group is entrusted to one of its member states, and currently the leading country of the Nordic Group is Norway.
