Ukraine urgently needs more air defense systems, and there is some progress with its allies. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who arrived on Tuesday at a meeting of EU defense ministers, UNN reports.
The most urgent need now is to strengthen air defense. And we are working with our NATO allies, as well as many of them, certainly EU members, to increase the supply of ammunition, air defense systems, and in particular the most advanced Patriot systems. So we have seen some progress. But Ukraine urgently needs more progress and more air defense systems. And this is also the message of the NATO-Ukraine Council, which is meeting today at NATO
The Secretary General also said that NATO is now working on how the Alliance can coordinate the provision of equipment and training. "We have received a proposal from our Supreme Allied Commander (SACEUR) on how to organize this. Yes, NATO is coordinating support for military equipment and training for Ukraine," he said.
Stoltenberg recalled that he also proposed a multi-year financial commitment, "which means that we, as NATO Allies, should agree on a financial commitment to Ukraine for several years to ensure that we prevent gaps and delays, as we have seen recently, and that Ukraine gets predictable, accountable support for the long term." "And that's what they need to prevail as a sovereign, independent nation," the Secretary General pointed out.
"Finally, we are also working with industry to increase production. We've seen some important decisions recently to increase investment and increase production. But we need more, and we are working closely with the transatlantic defense industrial base to increase production," he said.