Jens Stoltenberg, unannounced visit to Kiev. NATO chief promised Zelenskiy that arms deliveries to Ukraine will increase

The head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, on an unannounced visit to Kiev on Monday, said that he is confident that things will change on the Ukrainian front and assured that the flow of weapons and ammunition will increase.

In an unannounced visit to Ukraine, the Secretary General of the Transatlantic Military Alliance held talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky and was to address the Ukrainian Parliament (Rada), writes Reuters.

His visit, the third since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, comes at a difficult time on the battlefield for Ukraine.

After a failed Ukrainian counter-offensive last year, Russian forces have gained ground, in part due to a lack of arms and ammunition supplies from Kiev’s Western partners.

“I will also be very honest with President Zelenskiy and also with the Rada that NATO allies have not fulfilled what we have promised in recent months,” Stoltenberg said.

“The United States has been talking for six months to agree on a package, and the European allies have not delivered the ammunition we promised. But now I am confident that things will change,” he added.

Stoltenberg pointed out that the US Congress has now approved a more than $60 billion aid package for Ukraine, swiftly signed by President Joe Biden, and last week British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a “record” commitment to Kiev.

He also noted that Germany had agreed to provide a new Patriot air defense system to Ukraine, and the Netherlands had increased aid to Kiev. Stoltenberg said he expected other “new commitments” to come.

“This will make the difference because the lack of support made the difference,” he said, alluding to Ukrainian failures on the battlefield.

He said the Russians had paid “a high price for marginal territorial gains” and that Ukraine could still turn the tide in its favor.

Publisher: MI

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