NATO is urging its bloc members to boost their defense spending to arm Ukraine with more weapons, ammunition, and spares, as the conflict grinds on.
We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
This line has likely been said by the majority of Ukraine’s top allies, especially United State President Joe Biden, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg himself.
“We stood against Putin’s aggression. We stood with the Ukrainian people. We’re going to stand with you as long as it takes,” statement of Pres. Joe Biden, United States of America.
“We will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. We will not back down,” said Jens Stoltenberg NATO Secretary-General.
And now, the NATO chief is pushing for its member countries to be prepared to maintain their military support.
Stoltenberg has told the Guardian newspaper that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no immediate plans for peace and Ukraine, and this is why the West needs to brace itself to supply lethal aid to Ukraine for a long time.
He also noted that the expenditure of munitions in Ukraine in its fight against Russian forces has outpaced the production capacity of countries arming Kyiv.
The NATO chief said, and quote, the need will continue to be there because this is a war of attrition; this is about the industrial capacity to sustain the support.
“The need for weapons will continue to be there, because this is a war of attrition; this is about industrial capacity to sustain the support,” said Stoltenberg.
To sustain the military efforts, Stoltenberg said NATO members must boost military spending to at least the target level of 2 percent gross domestic product.
Meanwhile, reports say that as of February 2023, Ukraine has received military aid from European Union institutions, 45 sovereign countries, companies, and other parties.
Stoltenberg, on the other hand, said that, at present, the intense combat caused Kyiv’s use of artillery shells to outrun Western manufacturing.
He said that Ukraine’s use of artillery shells is using 4,000 to 7,000 a day, compared to Russia’s 20,000 a day.
The NATO chief also claimed that Russia is running low on weapons but is also boosting its manufacturing and looking for arms from other nations like North Korea and Iran which both nations denied.
The US has also warned China against providing Russia with lethal weapons.
To recall, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserted that China is “strongly considering” providing lethal aid to Moscow.
Amid warnings, the EU has claimed that so far, there is no evidence that China has sent military support to Russia.
