NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on NATO members to send more weapons from their personal stockpiles to Ukraine.
He expressed these views today while addressing a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
He said that at the request of Ukraine, a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council was also called on Friday.
He said that in addition to NATO member states agreeing to spend at least 2 percent of their budgets on defense, 32 NATO member states have also agreed to purchase and stockpile some military equipment.
Stoltenberg said it was the “right decision” to give more to Ukraine, even if it meant that NATO’s own stockpile no longer met its commitments.
Stoltenberg said. “The bottom line is that supporting Ukraine and helping to disable Russian warheads also strengthens our own security.”
The NATO chief said the demand was aimed at meeting Ukraine’s need for more air defense systems and artillery shells. The NATO-Ukraine Council has the same goal.
He said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and defense ministers of 32 NATO member countries will attend the meeting on Friday. It is not yet clear whether the meeting will be a physical one or a video conference.
It should be remembered that Zelenskiy has made it clear before that he wants to have an early meeting of the NATO-Ukraine advisory body.
In a video message on Tuesday night, he stressed that the people of Ukraine deserve better protection.
In his message, he was referring to Israel’s anti-aircraft defenses that repelled an Iranian attack last weekend. It should also be remembered that Russia uses drones from Iran to bomb Ukraine.
