NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, was convinced this Friday that Ukraine is ready to launch a counteroffensive that allows him to recover territories occupied by the invading Russian troops.
“I trust that [los ucranianos] are in a position to liberate more territories,” said Stoltenberg on the sidelines of a meeting of some 50 countries allied to Ukraine at the US military base in Ramstein (Germany).
One year after its creation, the group of countries that militarily supports Ukraine became “an extraordinary community of action”, that made it possible to achieve “impressive advances” on the ground, said the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday urged his Western allies to send more fighter jets and long-range missiles.
Zelensky made his requests directly to Stoltenberg, who visited kyiv before heading to Ramstein.
“Together we will make sure Ukraine has everything it needs,” Austin said. while announcing the upcoming delivery of Abrams heavy tanks to Germany in order to train Ukrainian soldiers prior to their deployment on the battlefield.
Zelensky requested the help of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to “overcome the reluctance” of some Member States to provide long-range rockets, modern combat aircraft and armored vehicles.
– ‘Battle of attrition’ –
Some NATO members sent to Ukraine Soviet-era fighters, but so far no modern aircraft, such as the US-designed F-16, despite kyiv’s requests.
Ukraine’s western partners have also been reluctant to send rockets long-range for fear that Ukraine will use them to attack targets inside Russia.
“We are all convinced that what Ukraine urgently needs is a defense capability.ground-based aerial,” Austin said.
The US Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley, argued for his part that the Russians “have considerable air power”, so “to equate the Ukrainian air force to the Russian would require a considerable effort.”
despite thisStoltenberg recognized the need to talk about new “platforms” of support in the conflict and stressed the need to ensure that the weapons already supplied continue to work.
“Now this is a battle of attrition and a battle of attrition turns into a war of logistics,” the NATO chief said.
The Ukrainian, Polish and German representatives agreed to implement a “joint repair center in Poland” for Leopard 2 tanks, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced.
The Ramstein meeting provoked Moscow’s anger against Western countries.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that this initiative “confirms the direct participation [de esos países] in the conflict and participation in the planning of military operations”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov, also accused NATO of trying to “absorb and drag Ukraine into the transatlantic military alliance”, which, according to him, proves that Russia was right to “launch this operation”, in February 2022 to guarantee their security.
– Anti-aircraft defense –
Stoltenberg revealed that Ukraine has already received missile systems Patriot ground-to-air of the United States and Germany, without specifying the amount.
Ukraine had long been demanding this material to its western allies to defend against Russian missile attacks and repel the invasion.
In the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, AFP journalists saw a group of soldiers using artillery supplied by the United Kingdom.
During Stoltenberg’s visit to kyiv, the NATO chief stressed that Ukraine’s entry into the alliance is not an immediate priority.
“All NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine should become a member of NATO, but the main objective now is, of course, how to ensure that Ukraine prevails,” he declared.
“Without a sovereign and independent Ukraineit doesn’t make sense to talk about accession,” he said.
kyiv’s allies have provided more than $55 billion in aid to the safety of Ukraine and more than $35 billion came from the United States, according to Lloyd Austin.
