NATO Urges Member-States To Flood Ukraine With Weapons

Western countries need to “ramp up” their military support to Ukraine – and be prepared to provide long-term assistance – NATO’s secretary general has said, as Russia began the new year with fresh missile attacks on Kyiv and other cities, Liam James and Matt Mathers reported for The Independent.

Photo Insert: “It is a core responsibility for NATO to ensure that we have the stocks, the supplies, the weapons in place to ensure our own deterrence and defense, but also to be able to continue to provide support to Ukraine for the long haul.”

“Russia has shown no sign of giving up its overall goal of taking control over Ukraine,” Jens Stoltenberg said.

“The Ukrainian forces have had the momentum for several months but we also know that Russia has mobilized many more forces. Many of them are now training."

“All that indicates that they are prepared to continue the war and also potentially try to launch a new offensive,” Stoltenberg told BBC Radio 4.

“It is a core responsibility for NATO to ensure that we have the stocks, the supplies, the weapons in place to ensure our own deterrence and defense, but also to be able to continue to provide support to Ukraine for the long haul.”

“We need to provide support to Ukraine now, including military support, because that’s the only way to convince Russia that they have to sit down and negotiate in good faith and respect Ukraine as a sovereign independent nation in Europe,” Stoltenberg concluded.

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