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Arms shipments to Ukraine will increase, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg firmly stated on Monday in the Ukrainian capital.
During his unannounced visit to Kyiv, Stoltenberg said:
In recent months, NATO allies have not delivered what they promised. The United States spent six months agreeing on an aid package, and the European allies did not deliver the ammunition we promised. But now I’m sure things will change.
In addition to the NATO Secretary General, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also re-expressed his commitment to support Kiev, Germany agreed to purchase a new Patriot system for Ukraine, and the Netherlands also offered new air defense aid. And Stoltenberg expects even more commitments. With all this help, Ukraine will be able to turn around the combat situation on the front lines.
Ukraine can receive a 100 billion dollar budget
At the joint press conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine will immediately receive the Patriot missiles it requested from its allies. “As for the additional packages and the number of missiles needed for the Patriot systems, I think we will receive these supplies,” Ukrainian news agency UNIAN quoted Zelensky as saying.
The head of state said: at the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council on April 19, Kiev received the answer that there will be no break in the process of supplying ammunition. At the same time, he specified that negotiations are ongoing regarding Ukraine receiving additional Patriot air defense missile systems.
“We don’t yet have the strong specifics we expect from partners. There are first steps,” stated Zelensky. “Today, we discussed with the general secretary where the Patriots’ continued presence would be needed. We know which state has what,” said the president. He added that it would make a noticeable difference if additional Patriot air defense systems were delivered to Ukraine.
According to the report of the Ukrainian Pravda news portal, Stoltenberg invited Zelensky to the NATO summit in Washington, but at the same time expressed doubt that Ukraine would be invited to join the alliance there.
Zelensky also stated that Ukraine approves of the NATO Secretary General’s idea to create a special federal fund of 100 billion euros to support Ukrainian defense, but he would be interested in the details of how such a fund would work. The Ukrainian president reminded that this is Stoltenberg’s third visit to Ukraine during the war started by Russia in February 2022. According to the program of the NATO Secretary General, he will also speak in the Ukrainian parliament.
