NATO will continue to arm Ukraine and replenish its own ammunition

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held a briefing on Monday, where he spoke about the alliance’s further plans for military aid to Ukraine. Stoltenberg emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not show any signs of readiness for a peaceful settlement, but instead starts new offensive actions. In light of them, NATO should not only provide support to Ukraine, but also significantly strengthen its own defense capabilities.

Stoltenberg said that at the meeting of defense ministers of NATO countries on Tuesday in Brussels, the issues of possible supplies of military aviation to Ukraine will be discussed. According to Stoltenberg, such deliveries may take a lot of time, but if they happen, it will not make NATO one of the parties to the conflict in the war.

However, the head of NATO noted, now the decisive factor is the availability and speed of delivery of weapons to the Ukrainian side. This means that Ukraine will receive artillery and tanks first. In Germany, the forces of the Bundeswehr have already started training the Ukrainian military in the operation of Leopard 2 tanks, which the European Union countries agreed to transfer to Ukraine.

According to Stoltenberg, NATO countries should increase their stockpiles of weapons – not only to help Ukraine, but also to replenish their own forces. Such steps are already being taken. According to Reuters, the USA this year intends to increase the production of artillery shells from the pre-war 14,400 to 90,000 per month. In 2023, France increased its budget for the production of ammunition to two billion euros.

Defense ministers of NATO countries will meet in the “Ramstein format” in Brussels on February 14-15. In a week, before the anniversary of the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Munich Security Conference will be held in Germany, where the heads of state of the Western coalition, which provides military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, will meet. According to Stoltenberg, the issue of replenishment of the weapons of the NATO countries will be discussed in July at a meeting of representatives of the alliance in Lithuania.