NATO defence ministers to discuss weapons for Ukraine

The West must step up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and prove its commitment to helping the country’s military fight along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line in a grinding war of attrition with Russia, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday.

Opening a meeting in Brussels on supporting Ukraine, Austin urged more than 45 participating nations to demonstrate “our unwavering determination to get Ukraine the capabilities that it urgently needs to defend itself.”

“We must intensify our shared commitment to Ukraine’s self-defense, and we must push ourselves even harder to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself, its citizens and its territory,” he said.

The meeting came on the opening day of a a two-day gathering of NATO defence ministers at the alliance’s headquarters.

Increased arms supplies can’t come soon enough for the Ukrainian forces battling to keep Russia from taking control of their country’s industrial east after more than 3½ months of war.

In his nightly address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

pleaded Tuesday for more and faster deliveries of Western arms, specifically asking for anti-missile defense systems.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who attended the meeting convened by the U.S. defense secretary, said he was grateful for all the military aid the nations already have shipped or pledged to Ukraine. “But we can’t afford to let up and we can’t lose steam,” Reznikov said. “The stakes are too high.”

The formal NATO meeting was set to open later Wednesday with a dinner where ministers also will discuss Sweden and Finland’s applications to join the trans-Atlantic military alliance.

The meeting, less two weeks before a summit of NATO leaders in Madrid, comes with Kyiv imploring the West to send more and heavier weapons to help fend off Russia’s onslaught in eastern Ukraine. “Allies are committed to continue providing the military equipment that Ukraine needs to prevail, including heavy weapons and long-range systems,” Stoltenberg said.

He added that Zelenskyy would be invited to address the June 2930 Madrid summit, either in person or by videoconference.