Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at NATO headquarters on Wednesday as part of a surprise visit to attend a meeting of the organization’s defense ministers.
He was greeted by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg shortly before the start of a meeting of the alliance’s defense ministers, which, among other things, discussed support for Ukraine, which some fear is weakening after nearly 600 days of war.
“We need the support of the leaders, that’s why I’m here,” said Mr. Zelensky, who had said a day earlier that he was worried about the consequences of the “tragedy” in Israel for the allies’ contribution to his country.
“Your fight is our fight, your security is our security,” Mr. Stoltenberg said alongside President Zelensky.
“International attention is in danger of turning away from Ukraine, and that will have consequences,” the Ukrainian head of state warned on a French television channel on Tuesday evening.
Mr. Zelensky also called on Westerners to show Israelis that they are not “alone” and encouraged them to come to Israel “to support the people, simply to support the people who have suffered terrorist attacks.”
Mr Zelenskyy’s participation in this meeting of alliance defense ministers was not planned. Mr. Zelensky said he wanted to tell his allies what Ukraine needed for its counteroffensive against Russia. “It is crucial for us how we survive this winter,” emphasized Mr. Zelensky.
He mentioned air defense systems to protect Ukraine’s infrastructure. “Air defense is essential to protect the economy, the population and the infrastructure,” assured Mr. Stoltenberg.
“We need more support, artillery, air defense,” the NATO chief added.
Last winter, Russia bombed Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, repeatedly depriving the population of electricity or heat.
A situation that Kiev and its allies do not want to experience again. The focus will be on an anti-aircraft “winter shield” to draw lessons from last year, a NATO-based diplomat summarized this week.