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NATO Ready To Support Kyiv In Its Defense vs Moscow For Years
- By The Financial District
- Apr 30, 2022
- 2 min read
NATO is ready to maintain its support for Ukraine in the war against Russia for years, including help for Kyiv to shift from Soviet-era weapons to modern Western arms and systems, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said late on Thursday, Sabine Siebold reported for Reuters.
Photo Insert: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, seen in photo with US President Joe Biden, said the West would continue to put maximum pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the invasion of Ukraine
He spoke after the Kremlin warned that Western arms supplies to Ukraine, including heavy weapons, posed a threat to the security of the European continent "and provoke instability."
Stoltenberg said "we need to be prepared for the long term. There is absolutely the possibility that this war will drag on and last for months and years."
The NATO chief said the West would continue to put maximum pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation," through sanctions and economic as well as military aid to Kyiv.
"NATO allies are preparing to provide support over a long period of time and also help Ukraine to transit, move from old Soviet-era equipment to more modern NATO-standard weapons and systems that will also require more training," Stoltenberg said.
Most of the heavy weapons NATO countries have sent to Ukraine so far are Soviet-built arms still in the inventories of east European NATO member states, but the US and some other allies have started to supply Kyiv with Western howitzers.
Germany on Tuesday announced the shipment of Gepard tanks equipped with anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine, the first time Berlin has approved heavy weapons deliveries for Kyiv.
However, a flood of anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as armed drones, have destroyed thousands of Russian tanks, fighting vehicles, warplanes, helicopters, missile launchers, and warships.
