Monitoring Desk
BRUSSELS: Ukraine urgently needs more military supplies, and Western support will not falter; the United States (US) and NATO pledged on Tuesday in the face of new Russian attacks ahead of the first anniversary of the start of the war.
Western defence chiefs were meeting in Brussels for talks over new arms provisions to Ukraine, which is pleading for greater ammunitions and maintenance of existing military supplies, including shells whose production can hardly keep pace with the Ukraine war.
“Ukraine has urgent requirements to help the country meet this crucial moment in the course of the war,” Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense said at a meeting of the group of allies of Ukraine.
Austin said he expected Ukrainian troops to conduct an offensive of their own in the spring. Kyiv’s allies were working to ensure Ukrainian forces had the armour, firepower, and logistics to make it effective.
“We believe there will be a window of opportunity for them to exercise initiative,” the US Secretary of Defence said.
“Moscow is still betting it can wait us out; however, one year on, we are as united as ever. That shared commitment will help sustain Ukraine’s momentum in the crucial weeks ahead.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg gave the same message about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
“We see no signs that Putin is preparing for peace. We see the opposite; he is preparing for more war, for new offensives and new attacks,” he told reporters.
US says Russia lost in the eyes of the world
Nevertheless, the top US general, Mark Milley, said Russia had already lost in the eyes of the world.
“Russia is now a global pariah, and the world remains inspired by Ukrainian bravery and resilience. In short, Russia has lost: they’ve lost strategically, operationally, and tactically,” Milley, chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.
NATO defence ministers met with Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov after the Ramstein group gathering.
The alliance plans to increase targets for stockpiling ammunition as Kyiv is burning through shells much faster than the West can produce them, leaving stocks badly depleted.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius called on the national defence industry to ramp up production capacity.
He said Berlin had signed contracts with arms maker Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) to restart ammunition production for the Gepard anti-aircraft guns it delivered to Kyiv.
It had been trying for months to find new munitions for the guns, which its own military decommissioned in 2010.
