NATO defence ministers have kicked off a two-day gathering in Brussels to discuss support for Ukraine as well as the alliance’s attempts to stock up on weapons and ammunition and the protection for submarine infrastructure.
The ministers are to discuss how to increase production for ammunition as continued deliveries to Ukraine have been putting a strain on the alliance’s own stock.
On Tuesday afternoon, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov was scheduled to join the NATO ministers. He was also set to attend a US-led meeting for the coordination of weapon deliveries to Ukraine alongside around 50 countries on Tuesday morning.
It is expected that Reznikov will call for the delivery of fighter jets after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for the supply of planes while in Brussels last week.
No decision on the fighter jets has yet been made, nor was one expected for Tuesday.
Also on the agenda is how to better protect critical underwater infrastructure following alleged acts of sabotage on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines. On Wednesday, the gathering was expected to focus on NATO’s presence in eastern Europe.
Finland and Sweden’s potential accession to NATO, and Turkey’s attempt to block the move, would also be part of the discussions.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called for a prompt supply of ammunition, fuel and spare parts to Ukraine on Monday.
Stoltenberg reiterated that NATO had to guarantee Ukraine received the weapons it needed “to win this war” and that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not arranging for peace but rather “preparing for more war.”
“We see no signs that President Putin is preparing for peace, what we see is the opposite, he is preparing for more war, new offensives and new attacks,” said Stoltenberg.
“This is a grinding war of attrition, therefore a battle of logistics,” added Stoltenberg, referring to Ukraine’s calls for further weapons and fighter jets.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he expected the war in Ukraine to be long-lasting. “There will be no short-term end to the war,” he said before the meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels. “Nor do I see a short-term winner,” he added.
That’s why it was important to strike the right balance in the supply of weapons to Ukraine, he said. German support for Ukraine was underway, with a priority focus on air defences and the supply of ammunition.
Pistorius announced that Germany would resume the production of ammunition for Gepard battle tanks. “Contracts for the production of Gepard ammunition have been signed,” Pistorius said before the NATO defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels.
The decision was made to create greater independence from Switzerland, Pistorius stressed. The Swiss government has thus far refused to allow the delivery of ammunition from domestic production for the Gepard tanks supplied by Germany, citing the country’s neutral status. Pistorius appealed to the German arms industry to ramp up production capacities.
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