NATO Secretary General: winter will be hard, Ukraine needs more weapons

EUROPEAN PRAVDA – TUESDAY, 23 AUGUST 2022, 16:57

Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of NATO, assures Ukraine that NATO will continue supporting Ukraine, and that this support will last as long as it is needed.

He announced this while giving a speech at the second summit of the Crimea Platform, as reported by European Pravda.

"We are committed to our partnership with Ukraine for the long term. We will help Ukraine transition … to NATO-standard equipment. … Winter is coming and it will be hard, and what we see now is a grinding war of attrition. This is a battle of wills and a battle of logistics. Therefore we must sustain our support for Ukraine for the long term. .. A strong, stable and independent Ukraine is essential to Euro-Atlantic safety. …We will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes", Stoltenberg said.

He said that eight years ago, Russia illegally annexed Crimea, transforming it into one of the most militarised areas in Europe.

"And it used it as a launchpad for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine six months ago. President Putin thought he could crush the Ukrainian people and armed forces. He thought he could dictate what others should do. But President Putin was wrong. Ukraine showed its incredible ability to resist brutal aggression, strike back… and impose major costs on Russia", Stoltenberg added.

He confirmed that NATO stands in full solidarity with Ukraine, and that allies fully support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the right to self-defence and to choose its own path.

"NATO is a part of the US-led Ukraine Defence Contact Group to mobilise support. And I actively engage with leaders to urge them to provide [Ukraine with] more weapons and more ammunition, and more quickly, he emphasised.

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