Aside the G7 summit in Italy, a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group(UDCG), hosted by the US, was held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, June 13, 2024.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the Chair of the meeting, said that Ukraine’s beleaguered armed forces need longer-term predictability about the kinds of weapons, ammunition and funds they can expect to receive.
“The whole idea is to minimize the risk for gaps and delays as we saw earlier this year,” Stoltenberg told reporters.
He recalled that earlier this year, delays in both military support from the US and several European allies “made a difference on the battlefield.”
The hold-up, he said, “is one of the reasons why the Russians are now able to push and to actually occupy more land in Ukraine.”
“We will address the urgent needs for more supplies, weapons of air defense, of ammunition.
“I expect that the NATO ministers will agree a plan for NATO security assistance and training for Ukraine. And we will also discuss a long-term financial pledge that I expect allied leaders will agree at the NATO summit in July.”
Jens Stoltenberg
Commenting on the Patriot air defense system delivery to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said that the allied countries are “working hard” on the issue.
“I expect allies to make an announcement in the coming days and weeks,” he said.
When asked about Hungary’s stance on the conflict in Ukraine, the NATO Chief replied that the country “will not be part of the financial pledge,” but will not block the allies from moving forward with the plan.
Hungary will continue meeting “all its other NATO obligations,” Stoltenberg stressed, noting that the aim is to “minimize the risk for gaps and delays.”
Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said that his country would send Ukraine 2,300 rocket motors, and that 80,000 more of the devices are being tested.
“Pending the results of those tests, we intend to ship more packages of these motors to our Ukrainian partners in the future,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discussed in detail the planning of Ukraine’s defense needs on the sidelines of a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
Both Ministers paid special attention to mobilization and the equipping of Ukrainian combat brigades.
Argentina Joins Ukraine Defense Contact Group
Also on Thursday, Argentinajoined the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
U.S. Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin made the announcement while opening the 23rd meeting of the UDCG.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead. And fortunately, support for Ukraine is growing and not waning,” Austin said.
“I’m pleased to welcome Argentina as a new member. Minister Petri, I’m glad to have you with us,” Austin said, addressing Argentine Defense Minister Luis Petri, who was present at the meeting.
He noted that “the stakes in this war are high, and Ukraine’s survival is on the line, but so is all of our security.”
“None of us would want to live in a world where Putin prevails. We would all be less secure if tyrants think that they could trample borders and cow their neighbors. So we have a lot to do.”
Lloyd Austin
“But I’m confident that this the coalition will continue to rise to the challenge,” he said.
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