Ukraine’s allies meet on arms supply

As Ukraine urged its citizens to flee a hotly contested city in the east, the country’s allies worked Tuesday to come up with ways to provide Kyiv with the basic supplies it will need for the larger battles looming ahead — especially artillery shells.

The allies, meeting in Brussels, discussed ways to ramp up production as stockpiles dwindle, but warned that it is a problem not easily solved.

“The current rate of Ukraine’s ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said before the meeting. “This puts our defense industries under strain.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking to reporters in Brussels, said it was also critical to train Ukrainian soldiers to use the equipment that allies have already agreed to provide. Russia is seen as ramping up a major new offensive in eastern Ukraine, and Austin said the United States expects Ukraine to conduct a new counteroffensive in the spring.

“That’s just weeks away — so we have a lot to get done,” Austin said.

Whatever plans Ukraine’s allies arrive at by the end of meetings that conclude today, it appeared clear that they would be too late to help the city of Bakhmut, where Russian forces appeared close to a significant victory.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian authorities stepped up efforts to persuade the few thousand remaining civilians to leave Bakhmut, adding to signs that Kyiv may be preparing to retreat. The city, which had a prewar population of around 70,000, has steadily been emptying as the fighting has intensified.

In Brussels on Tuesday, NATO officials also discussed a reshaping of the alliance caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine: an expansion to include two long-nonaligned countries, Finland and Sweden.

Stoltenberg raised the possibility that the applications of Sweden and Finland to join NATO might be considered separately, appearing to open the door to a split decision on membership.

“The main question is not whether Finland and Sweden are ratified together,” he told reporters. “The main question is that they are both ratified as full members as soon as possible.”