NATO urges allies to send arms to Ukraine before tanks arrive, amid full debate on fighters

One was to exclude Ukraine from airspace, which would have meant NATO entering the conflict, and the other was to send in fighters, which the Allies, on their own, could do under Volodymyr Zelensky. This is how Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg justifies the possibility of sending warplanes to Ukraine, which is no longer taboo, although there is still reluctance to take this step, which could be interpreted as an escalation against Russia. “We are prudent,” the allies say. Now the priority is the arrival of the agreed tanks and this was called for by the head of NATO. “It is urgent to supply Ukraine with more weapons,” he said at a press conference on the eve of the defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels.

For Stoltenberg, the sooner the weapon arrives, the “more lives” will be saved. Defense officials are looking to coordinate shipments of tanks that have opened up since their last meeting in Germany, as well as industrial production at a time when supplies to Ukraine are running out of reserves. “A challenge”, said the head of NATO, which Russia also has. Adaptation of production capacity is one of the challenges that an organization sets itself, which intends to increase its goals through the planning process, after analyzing the existing arsenal.

“Ukraine’s current ammunition consumption rate is many times higher than our current production rate, which puts pressure on our defense industry,” Stoltenberg said. “The good news is that several allies, including the United States and France, have already signed new multi-year contracts with the defense industry. This will enable them to invest in greater production capacity,” he added.

The NATO aircraft phase has not been achieved

Accordingly, on the table of the allies is the strengthening of military support to Ukraine in the background of the expected Russian attack. “There is no sign that he is preparing for peace or negotiations,” the secretary general said of Vladimir Putin’s aspirations: “He still wants to control Ukraine.” And it is this discourse that makes him insist on “continuing military support” through allies.

The intention is for Tuesday’s meeting to finalize the shipment of Leopard2 tanks, which are not expected to be ready for battlefield use for up to two months, in order to technically prepare the equipment but also train troops. Stoltenberg appreciated the capabilities of the allies in the conditions of the “poor quality” of the Russians, which Putin compensates with “quantity”.

Stoltenberg welcomed the support that is reaching Ukraine in the form of weapons and did not rule out that it could also include fighters, although alliance sources insist that “it has not been achieved at this stage”. But this is not the issue that will be discussed. Thus, the secretary-general advocated sending first artillery, then air defenses and now heavy weapons and tanks, as well as opening a “consultative process” on the type of aid sent. “Support for Ukraine has evolved as the war has evolved,” he justifies. However, there is no record of Russia using its air force to attack Ukraine.

The meeting of NATO defense ministers came days after Zelensky made a request for continued aid in Brussels. “We need these weapons,” he told EU leaders, referring to the planes. Once in the capital of the community, there was an assumption that he would visit Stoltenberg, but it did not happen. Alliance sources also note that there is pressure on the Secretary General to visit Kiev, but this is a move that these sources consider “risky”.

Source: El Diario

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