NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was “confident” that Ukraine could win back ground from the Russians through a possible counter-offensive, for which Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging his supporters to supply more arms and ammunition.
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Kiev’s international allies, meeting Friday at the US base in Ramstein, Germany, “are reviewing the various capabilities, systems and supplies Ukrainians need to regain more ground,” Stoltenberg told reporters.
“I am confident that they (the Ukrainians) can gain even more ground now,” he said.
During his visit to Kiev on Thursday, the NATO chief held talks with President Zelensky, who is constantly urging Westerners to supply more armor, artillery, ammunition, but also aircraft weapons and long-range fire systems to hit Russian camps far behind the front lines.
“All together we will ensure that Ukraine has everything it needs to live in freedom,” said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Ramstein, where around 50 countries are represented.
The meeting began with talks between Mr Austin and his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiï Reznikov, which the latter described as “fruitful”.
However, between insufficient inventories, fears of escalation and logistical problems, Europeans and Americans were more cautious than Kÿiv would like.
Above all, the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine divides the supporters in Kiev, Germany seems to be particularly reluctant.
Slovakia and Poland began supplying Ukraine with Soviet-designed Mig-29 fighters.
But shipping modern Western aircraft has yet to be discussed.
The alliance is focused on supplying ammunition and spare parts so that the systems already deployed in Ukraine “have the desired effect,” Mr. Stoltenberg stressed on Friday.
“It is now a battle of attrition, and a battle of attrition is becoming a logistical war,” he said.
Ukrainian, Polish and German representatives have therefore agreed to set up a “joint repair center for the entire fleet” of Leopard 2 tanks in Poland, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced.
Westerners have provided more than $150 billion in aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, including $65 billion for the military, he said.
After resisting Russian attacks on the Eastern Front all winter, Ukrainian forces say they are preparing their own offensive for spring or summer.
Ukraine announced this week that it has received the first American Patriot air defense systems, an operation coordinated by the United States, Germany and the Netherlands.
British and German heavy tanks have also been supplied by Kÿiv since the end of March, after a long-standing request. American Abrams tanks could soon follow.
Jens Stoltenberg’s visit to Kÿiv was also an opportunity for Volodymyr Zelenskyy to urge the Atlantic Alliance to invite his country to join.
Mr Stoltenberg reiterated NATO’s support for Ukraine’s ambitions and believed that the “future” of Kÿiv lay in the “Euro-Atlantic family”, but said nothing about the timetable.
That rapprochement plagues the Kremlin, which on Friday, through the voice of its spokesman Dmitry Peskov, chastised the “aggressive nature” of the Atlantic Alliance, which he said was guilty of “attempting to federate and train Ukraine.” “We are dealing with an aggressive bloc that sees our country as an enemy.”
Ukraine has been demanding membership of this organization for years, and even more so since the start of the Russian invasion, as it sees it as the only real guarantee of its security vis-à-vis Moscow.
Fundamentally positive about this perspective, NATO, on the other hand, is very vague about the deadlines; joining this country in its midst risks escalating the conflict, because Russia sees such an expansion as a red line.
“The main objective is to ensure that Ukraine wins,” otherwise “there is no point in discussing membership,” noted Mr. Stoltenberg.