Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg made an unannounced visit to Ukraine where he stated that the alliance had failed to live up to its promises to Kyiv. He, however, promised that arms and ammunition will now increase. His visit was the third to the war-torn country since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
“I will also be very honest with President Zelenskiy and also with the Rada that NATO allies have not delivered what we have promised over the last months,” Stoltenberg said on the train taking him into Kyiv on Monday.
“The United States spent six months to agree a package and European allies have not delivered the ammunition we promised. But now I’m confident that things will change,” he said.
Stoltenberg was speaking as Russian forces have made big inroads into Ukraine. Russia’s defence ministry said it had taken a village in the Donetsk region, gained better positions in the Kharkiv region and had repelled a number of Ukrainian attacks. Russia currently controls about 18% of Ukraine – in the east and south – and has been gaining ground since the failure of Kyiv’s 2023 counter-offensive to make any serious inroads against well dug-in Russian troops.
Stoltenberg said that apart from the recently passed aid package by the US for Ukraine, the Europeans would also be doing their bit to help Kyiv. He noted Germany had agreed to provide a new Patriot air defence system to Ukraine and the Netherlands had boosted its aid to Kyiv. He added he expected other “new commitments to come.”
Asked about the possible impact of this aid and new weaponry, Stoltenberg replied. “This will make a difference – as the lack of support made a difference,” he said, alluding to the recent Ukrainian setbacks on the battlefield.
Russia has so far not commented on the Nato chief’s statements.
(Edited by Ashwin Ahmad)
