Today at 16:45
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, again calles for accelarated supply of military aid to Ukraine, with air defence and ammunition being a priority.
He said this during a joint press conference with Alexander Stubb, President of Finland.
“NATO is actively working to ensure reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine now and for the long haul, so that Ukraine relies less on the voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments,” Stoltenberg explained the aim of the NATO allies in terms of cooperation with Ukraine.
He pointed out that delays in delivery of air defences will allow Russian missiles to hit more targets while delays in delivery of ammunition will allow Russia to advance on the battlefield.
On April 4, NATO Secretary General claimed that NATO allies understood the urgency of strengthening Ukraine’s air defence amid rigorous Russia’s attacks.
“They will now go back and look into their inventories, look into if there are any ways they can provide more systems, in particular Patriots, but also, of course, ensure that the systems which are already there [in Ukraine] have the ammunition but also the spare parts so they can all function as they should,” he said back then.
No air defense systems have been provided since then.
Also, Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said that fact the West was not able to provide at least 7 Patriot batteries Ukraine currently asks for “inconceivable”.He emphasized such efforts are required to prevent Ukraine’s destruction instead of thinking about reconstruction in the future.
Read also: Ukraine asks for 7 Patriots to protect civilians, the West has 100, provides none
