Allies of transatlantic military alliance, NATO will ?step up and sustain? support for Ukraine, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO?s Secretary General said on Monday February 13.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and in few days time, the war would reach its one year anniversary.
?Almost one year of the invasion, President Putin is not preparing for peace. He is launching new offensives,? Stoltenberg said at a press conference on Monday, February 13.
?We must continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to win and to achieve a just and sustainable peace,” he said, adding that Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov will join the NATO meeting on Tuesday, and together they will ?address Ukraine?s urgent needs.?
His comments come ahead of a meeting of NATO ministers of defense on February 14.
Also, the United States has told its citizens in Russia to leave “immediately” due to the war in Ukraine and the risk of potential harassment and arbitrary arrest by Russian law enforcement agencies.
The NATO leader’s comments also come as Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov laid out his agenda ahead of a meeting Tuesday with allied officials in Ramstein, Germany, where parties will discuss Ukraine-focused defense talks amid Russia’s invasion.
?The main issues on the agenda are:
-Protection of Ukrainian skies, including through the involvement of an aviation platform,
-Building a ?tank coalition,’
-Building a safety margin in terms of ammunition,
-Training programs for our soldiers,
Stability of support ? logistics, maintenance, repair, and practical implementation of the ‘Military Schengen.'”
-He said the Ukrainian delegation would ?work intensively with partners in the coming days. The pace is extremely high.?
In recent weeks, the possibility of the West sending more weapons ? especially fighter jets to bolster Kyiv’s military might in the war has been high on the agenda in discussions between allies and Ukrainian officials.