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NATO Allies have supported Ukraine since the onset of Russia’s full-scale, unprovoked aggression and will continue to bolster Ukraine’s air defense capabilities to protect critical infrastructure this winter.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said this in a doorstep statement in Brussels on Wednesday ahead of the meetings of NATO foreign ministers, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
“Last night, we had our dinner together with [High Representative] Kaja Kallas of the European Union, but also the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha. And it was a very good dinner. We discussed what we can do collectively to make sure that Ukraine has the air defense it needs also to protect its critical infrastructure and energy infrastructure, and secondly, how to make sure that Ukraine will get to a position of strength so that then Ukraine can start talks about its future in the region,” he said.
Rutte noted that Allies would do everything possible to ensure that the Ukrainians can withstand this terrible and unprovoked Russian attack and that Ukraine gets the air defense systems it needs. He added that Allies have consistently provided such assistance to Ukraine over the past two-and-a-half years, for more than 1,000 days since the start of the Russian invasion, including supplying air defense systems to Ukraine. Now there is a specific need on the energy infrastructure, because what Russia is trying to do is to weaponize winter again in this fight against Ukraine, he said.
“This was discussed last night. As you know, in the world, we do not have a sort of overflow of supply of air defense systems, so that means that you always have to make sure that you prioritize. But there was a clear agreement on the table last night that to help Ukraine, particularly with this infrastructure, has to be a priority. And I’m confident that Allies will follow up in the coming days and weeks in making sure that whatever they can supply to Ukraine will be supplied,” Rutte added.
A two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers is underway in Brussels. On December 3, a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council was held at NATO headquarters in the format of a working dinner with the participation of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
Read also: Rutte outlines three key areas of NATO support for Ukraine
