NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged the allies on Monday to speed up delivery of ammunition, fuel and components to Ukraine so that it can “save lives”, before a new russian offensive coinciding with the first anniversary of the war.
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“We are in a logistics race. Key capabilities such as ammunition, fuel and components must reach Ukraine before Russia can seize the initiative on the battlefield“, Stoltenberg said in a press conference prior to the meeting of defense ministers of the Alliance on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This meeting will be preceded on Tuesday morning by a new meeting of the coalition of more than 50 countries in support of Ukraine who presides over the United States and who will examine your needs and the military aid they can provide you.
We must continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to win and achieve a just and lasting peace.
Stoltenberg said that almost a year after the start of Russia’s aggressive war, “we see no sign” that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “preparing for peace,” but rather that he “What we see is that he still wants to control Ukraine.”
“We must continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to win and achieve a just and lasting peace,” he considered, at a time when Russia is leading large numbers of troops to the front, which, however, are not trained at the level of the Ukrainian ones, pointed.
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In this context, the Norwegian politician expressed his satisfaction with the recent announcements by the allies on new tanks, heavy weaponry and training for Ukraine.
“And I look forward to further deliveries. Our message is clear: Nato is with Ukraine, as long as it takes”, she stated.
Asked about the possibility that the allied ministers address the delivery of combat actions as requested by kyiv, Stoltenberg asked to differentiate this possibility from the no-fly zone that the Ukrainians requested at the beginning of the invasion, which would involve the direct participation of Alliance planes and pilots.
“It is different from what is being discussed now, which is that the allies give planes to Urania” for their pilots to use, he said.
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Currently, he said, the talks between the allies must focus on the air defense and tanks committed are delivered, work and have ammunition.
Stoltenberg advanced that the allied defense ministers will address in their meeting how increase its industrial defense capacity and replenish arsenalssince the war in Ukraine “is consuming an enormous amount of ammunition and depleting reserves”.
“The current rate of spending on ammunition in Ukraine is many times higher than our current rate of production, which puts our defense industries under pressure,” he explained, adding that, for example, the waiting time for ammunition from large caliber has increased “from 12 to 28 months”.
“Orders placed today would only be delivered two and a half years later. So we have to increase production and invest in our production capacity,” he indicated.
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The Secretary General affirmed that the Alliance has just completed a study on the ammunition stockpiles of the allies and assured that they plan to increase their objectives through the NATO Defense Planning Process
“The good news is that several allies, including the United States and France, have already signed new multi-year contracts with the defense industry. This will allow them to invest in more production capacity,” he commented.
EFE
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