Chancellor Scholz promises Ukraine: “Everything that makes sense and works quickly will be delivered.” Secretary General Stoltenberg warns that the war could last for years.
NATO members want to give Ukraine even more support in defending itself against the Russian army. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said before a meeting of foreign ministers that the members of the alliance had delivered anti-tank weapons and air defense systems and were ready to hand over “high-quality weapons”. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also announced further deliveries of weapons. “It must be our goal that Russia does not win this war,” he said in the Bundestag, adding: “Everything that makes sense and works quickly will be delivered.”
Like Scholz, Stoltenberg did not give any details. He assumes that Russia will concentrate “in the coming weeks” on “taking the entire Donbass and creating a land bridge to occupied Crimea”. The Russian army is currently preparing for this “new major offensive”. The Alliance agrees that the war is entering a new, critical phase. Stoltenberg appealed to the allies to gear their planning to the fact that the “brutal war” could last “many months, maybe even years”. Until then, the sanctions must be maintained. The delivery of petrol, ammunition and medical equipment to Kyiv also remains important.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is scheduled to speak to NATO partners on Thursday – and he is likely to have specific requests. At the end of March, President Volodymyr Zelensky called for tanks, anti-ship missiles, multiple rocket launchers and air defense systems at the NATO special summit. Apparently the US is working on to deliver anti-ship missiles to Ukraine – about the system harpoon, which the Bundeswehr also has. Material of Soviet design, with which the Ukrainian soldiers are familiar, is in demand. This week Czech Republic several battle tanks of the type T-72 transported to Ukraine. In addition, the NATO state also handed over armored personnel carriers of the type BVP-1.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved another $100 million worth of military aid before leaving for Brussels. Since the war began, Ukraine has received more than $1.7 billion from Washington. In addition to anti-tank systems, it is also about protective equipment that can be used in the event of a Russian use of chemical or biological weapons.
Leading US general promotes permanent presence in Eastern Europe
Meanwhile, US Chief of Staff Mark Milley is promoting permanent US military bases in Eastern Europe. He told Congress that the Baltic countries, as well as Poland and Romania, are “very, very willing” to build and maintain these bases. Even before Russia’s war of aggression, the United States had expanded its military presence in the eastern NATO states. However, these assignments are limited in time. Moscow strictly rejects the permanent deployment of NATO combat troops in Eastern Europe, citing the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act. Since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Allianz no longer feels bound by them.