Western countries must send more heavy weapons to Ukraine, which is fighting the attack of Russian troops in the east of Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.
“Yes, Ukraine needs more heavy weapons,” Stoltenberg told a news conference in The Hague after meeting with leaders of seven NATO members in Europe ahead of the forthcoming NATO summit in Madrid in late June.
Stoltenberg said NATO was already “increasing” supplies and officials would meet in Brussels on Wednesday to coordinate further support, including the supply of heavy weapons.
“Because they (Ukraine) are absolutely dependent on being able to counter Russia’s brutal invasion,” Stoltenberg said.
Ukraine has repeatedly asked the West for heavy weapons and criticized some European leaders for not supplying the weapons Ukraine needs to repel Russian troops.
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rite and the Prime Minister of Denmark Mete Frederiksen met with Stoltenberg and the leaders of Poland, Romania, Latvia, Portugal and Belgium before the forthcoming NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June.
Polish Prime Minister Matthew Moravecki regretted that the West was “not doing enough” to support Poland’s neighbor Ukraine.
“We have not done enough to protect Ukraine, to support the Ukrainian people, to support their freedom and sovereignty,” Moraveckis told a news conference.
“So I urge you to do much more to supply weapons, artillery to Ukraine. They need them to protect their country.”
The West would have no “credibility” if Ukraine lost in the fight against Russia, the Polish prime minister added.
“It would be a complete failure and a disaster for the European Union, for our values and for NATO,” Moraveckis said.
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