BRUSSLES (Dispatches) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on NATO member states to supply more weapons to Ukraine, according to an interview published on Friday.
“I call on allies to do more. It is in all our security interests to make sure Ukraine prevails and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not win,” Stoltenberg told German news agency DPA.
He said it was perhaps even more important that Ukraine receive enough ammunition for the systems already in place, adding that the need for ammunition and spare parts was “enormous”.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in an address to a group of Western leaders asked for a wide range of weapons and air defence systems to help efforts to counter the Russian invasion.
Also, the United States last week announced nearly $2 billion in additional military aid, including the Patriot Air Defense System, which offers protection against aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles.
NATO’s Stoltenberg told DPA that military support for Ukraine was the fastest way to peace.
“We know that most wars end at the negotiating table - probably this war too - but we know that what Ukraine can achieve in these negotiations depends inextricably on the military situation,” he said.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what Putin calls a “special military operation” against what he perceives as threats to Russian security.
Ukraine and its Western allies have denounced Russia’s actions as an imperialist-style land grab and imposed sanctions to try to disrupt the campaign.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Thursday that Britain will provide 23 billion pounds ($2.77 billion) in aid to Ukraine in 2023, adding that part of the aid is non-military and humanitarian.
“From the financial year 2023, we’ll put in another 2.3 billion (pounds),” Wallace told reporters when asked about his country’s aid to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, tensions between the warring sides in Ukraine continue to heighten amid attacks from both Moscow and Kiev.
The Kiev military announced on Friday that Russia launched 16 drones into Ukraine in an overnight operation, which it said were destroyed by air defenses.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kiev, said on his Telegram channel that seven drones had been aimed at the capital and that five were destroyed within the city and two before reaching Kyiv.
Russia has denied remarks made by Ukrainian authorities that it is targeting civilian infrastructure, saying its forces only target military-linked facilities.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that any proposal to end the war must take into account “today’s realities,” in reference to four former Ukrainian regions that joined the Russian union recently.
Russia’s war on Ukraine started in late February, with Moscow saying that it was aimed at defending the pro-Russia population in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk against alleged persecution by Kiev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the time that the offensive was meant to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.