NATO will provide Ukraine with anti-drone technologies, Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday after a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, CNN reports.
It comes after Ukraine asked its allies to provide it with more air defense systems and ammunition after Russia stepped up its use of “kamikaze drones” in its brutal attack on the country.
According to Stoltenberg, NATO allies “provide advanced systems, including artillery, air defense and armored vehicles.”
“I thank all allies for their significant contributions and encourage them to continue to step up their efforts. We also provide fuel, winter clothing and medical supplies as part of NATO’s comprehensive aid package,” he added.
“As part of this package, NATO will soon deliver anti-drone equipment to Ukraine with hundreds of drone interceptors that can help disable Russian and Iranian-made drones. And to protect the Ukrainian people and critical infrastructure,” he continued.
Stoltenberg also noted that in the long term, NATO will also help “to transition Ukraine from Soviet-era equipment to modern NATO equipment.”
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General Photo: Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP / Profimedia Images
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov briefed NATO on the situation on the battlefield, Stoltenberg said, adding that “Ukraine is making good progress in repelling Russian invasion forces in the east and south.”
Allies of Ukraine promise to strengthen air defense as soon as possible
Ukraine’s allies on Wednesday in Brussels promised to strengthen their air defenses “as soon as possible” after two days of intensive Russian bombing of the country, reports AFP.
Western countries are trying to find ways to supply Ukraine with their most advanced systems, since they themselves have a limited number, diplomats say.
After arriving at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said only a few words, summarizing the topic of the day: “air defense systems.”
“The systems will be provided as soon as possible,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin assured after a meeting of more than 50 members of the US-led contact group on Ukraine.
“We will provide the systems that we have (…) We will also try to provide additional ammunition for the systems currently used by the Ukrainian forces,” he said.
Upon her arrival, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht confirmed that the first German modern Iris-T defense system was delivered to Ukraine. “Next year there will be three more air defense systems,” she added.
“These are very complex, high-tech systems,” she explained, to justify such a delay in delivery. “But we are doing everything to make it happen as soon as possible.
German IRIS-T air defense system Photo: Schoening / imageBROKER / Profimedia
Ukrainians “urgently need” air defense to resist Russia’s indiscriminate bombing, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg admitted.
“Some allies have provided such protection systems,” he said. “But Ukrainians need more.”
“They need different types of air defense, short-range, long-range, anti-missile, anti-cruise missile, combat drones. Different systems for different tasks,” he explained.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called for the creation of an anti-aircraft “shield” over Ukraine.
The US has promised the NASAMS air defense system, the first two of which will soon arrive in Ukraine.
He promised six more, but again, this is equipment that has to be ordered from the defense industry and could take two to three years to deliver.
Meanwhile, NATO members can turn to older equipment, such as the U.S. Hawk anti-aircraft missile, which dates back to the Cold War but was modernized by the 2000s, according to U.S. officials.
Ukrainian soldiers fire from a self-propelled howitzer “Caesar” Photo: ARIS MESSINIS / AFP / Profimedia
Macron announced that he would supply Ukraine with air defense systems
“We will deliver radars, systems and (air defense, no) missiles to protect them (Ukrainians) from attacks, especially drone attacks,” he said.
The French president also reminded that France is considering the possibility of supplying Ukraine with additional Caesar self-propelled howitzers.
“We have delivered 18 of them” since the start of the war, “we are working on delivering another six guns with Denmark,” he said, explaining that the six Caesars were originally intended for the Danish army. “We are now trying to deliver them to the Ukrainians,” he said.
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Source: Hot News RU
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