NATO members discussed ways to speed up arms and ammunition supplies to Ukraine at a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the thorny issue of supplying fighter jets to resist Russia.
“The priority, the urgency, is to provide the Ukrainians with the weapons they were promised to maintain their defense capability,” Jens Stoltenberg, the transatlantic organization’s secretary-general, said before a meeting of the Ramstein Group.
All decisions about arms sales to Ukraine are made in this body, formed and chaired by the United States, which includes about fifty countries. Most of its meetings take place at the American base in Ramstein, Germany.
The allied countries have pledged artillery, armored vehicles and tanks, anti-aircraft systems and “other pledges will be made” to Ukraine, Jens Stoltenberg said.
“Fighter jets are not the most pressing issue, but a discussion is ongoing,” he added.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiï Reznikov, present in Brussels, insisted in a message on his Twitter account on the need to ensure sufficient stocks of ammunition and equipment maintenance, protect the Ukrainian skies and strengthen “coalition tanks”.
“This is a war of attrition and a logistical struggle,” stressed Jens Stoltenberg. Russian President “Vladimir Putin is not preparing for peace. He is preparing for a new offensive, new attacks. That’s why we must continue to give Ukraine what it needs to win,” he said.
Through the voice of its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who visited London, Paris and Brussels last week, Ukraine is demanding warplanes and long-range missiles.
“Industries under pressure»
But the fear of being drawn into the conflict blocks many allies. “No decision is expected for fighter jets on Tuesday,” assured several delegations.
“Support for Ukraine has been developing since the beginning of the conflict. The delivery of combat aircraft is being discussed,” Jens Stoltenberg assured. “It will take time and the short-term priorities are ammunition and armaments, promised with fuel and spare parts,” he immediately added.
“We must prioritize useful supplies so that Ukrainians can resist and conduct operations, rather than commitments that will arrive very late,” stressed French President Emmanuel Macron after his meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart.
Ammunition for arms supplies to the Ukrainians became a priority and a problem for the allies.
“Ukraine’s current ammunition consumption is much higher than our current production rate,” warned Jens Stoltenberg. “This is depleting our inventories and putting pressure on our defense industry,” he added, calling for increased production rates on the one hand and investment in production capacity on the other.
At the summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas had suggested that bloc member countries should use a mechanism similar to that used to buy vaccines to push the defense industry to produce more.
“Member States provide funds, the Commission takes care of the purchasing and the aid goes directly to Ukraine,” she said. “That could help speed up the process.”