TAPA MILITARY BASE, Estonia, January 19 (Portal) – A group of 11 NATO countries including Britain and Poland on Thursday pledged a raft of new military aid in support of Ukraine’s war with Russia ahead of a planned arms meeting for Kyiv on Thursday Friday in Germany.
“The West must remain united and continue to support Ukraine with military aid,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said at a news conference in his home country jointly held with his British counterpart and other officials.
“What Ukraine needs most is heavy weapons… The toughest battles are yet to come,” Pevkur said.
At a military base, officials gathered and promised missiles, Stinger air defense systems, anti-aircraft guns, machine guns, training and other equipment and services.
Britain, which has already announced plans to send tanks to Ukraine, will also send 600 Brimstone missiles, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said as he outlined the details.
Poland sent S-60 anti-aircraft guns with 70,000 rounds of ammunition and was willing to donate a company of German-made Leopard 2 tanks “in anticipation of (a) broader coalition” of Leopard donors, a joint statement by the organization said meeting .
The potential supply of Leopard tanks is expected to be high on the agenda when a broader group of nations, including the United States, meet at Germany’s Ramstein Air Force Base on Friday.
The United States and Germany on Thursday attempted to resolve a standoff over the Leopard, which the German government has so far refused delivery to Ukraine, but no deal has been announced as of yet.
Kyiv has pleaded for the tank, which it believes would help turn the tide against Russian forces.
Hours after the meeting, the Danish government announced that it would donate 19 French-made Caesar howitzer artillery systems to Ukraine, fulfilling the wish of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but hampering the Nordic country’s military build-up.
Reporting by Andrius Sytas, writing by Alan Charlish and Terje Solsvik; Edited by Alex Richardson
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