Full support for Ukraine until victory on the battlefield, as well as speed, timeliness and stability in the provision of assistance. These theses, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, were made during a meeting of the US-led Contact Group on Ukraine on February 14 in Brussels.
Reznikov noted that a total of 54 delegations participated in the meeting: “The anti-Kremlin coalition is growing. I clearly heard the messages of all representatives – full support for Ukraine until victory, and victory, as everyone believes, on the battlefield, as well as speed, timeliness and stability – these theses sounded exactly like that, ”said the Ukrainian Minister of Defense. said at the end of the meeting.
The Ukrainian minister underlined that the “key word” that resounded during the meeting was “the unity of all Ukraine for the victory of Ukraine” and the words of Jens Stoltenberg: “speed saves lives” .
He also said that a separate report was presented on the results of inspections of the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine by partner countries.
Support for the Spring Counteroffensive
In his opening speech, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said countries of goodwill will continue to help Ukraine defend against Russian aggression.
“The world is inspired by the resilience of the Ukrainian people and the courage of the Ukrainian military. Even against a background of failures, Ukraine has demonstrated that it will win. More countries have urgently begun to help Ukraine in the fight for its territory, sovereignty and freedom. Your presence here only proves that countries of goodwill around the world continue to scale up aid and ensure that any setbacks are only temporary,” Austin said.
He added that the Western partners will provide the support they promised to Ukraine: “We will support Ukraine’s fight for freedom in the long term and help Ukraine to hold on during the counter-offensive. of spring. Together and as a matter of urgency, we will once again provide the support we promised to Ukraine,” reports the Ukrainian service of Radio Liberty.
The head of the Pentagon recalled that the United States, Germany and the Netherlands are working together to supply Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems, eight countries – Germany, Poland, Canada, Portugal , Spain, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands – are working together to transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
To NATO – on increasing support for Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said ahead of the meeting of defense ministers that there were no signs that President Putin was preparing for peace. He noted the urgent need to urgently provide military capabilities to Ukraine so that it can continue to defend itself.
“Therefore, it is even more important that NATO member states and partners increase their support for Ukraine. And we will meet later today as part of the US-led Ukraine Contact Group and consider the urgent needs for increased support for Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said Feb. 14.
Last but not least, he said, it is about “the need to supply more ammunition, and how to increase production and strengthen our defense industry to be able to supply the necessary ammunition to Ukraine. , as well as to replenish our own stocks”.
About the situation at the front
The Meduza project highlights some shortcomings of Russian tactical actions on the front line, but stresses that “Ukrainian troops cannot contain the PMC Wagner offensive around Bakhmut, have problems confronting the elite units of the airborne forces near Kremennaya, but quite successfully withheld attacks from combined arms formations near Vuhledar and Maryinka.
“As a result, the Russian offensive turned into a series of local battles, apparently not linked by a single operational plan,” Meduza reports on the operational situation on February 14 at 14:00 local time. The Ukrainian command, according to observers of the site , “is just his strategy – in anticipation of the supply of new weapons from the West, he tries to exhaust the Russian troops.
“The goal is to go on the offensive with fresh forces in the spring. So far, however, everything is going in the direction that in the process of depleting the Ukrainian armed forces, they will lose Bakhmut, who is attacked by PMC Wagner,” the message emphasizes.
On Svoboda Live, Deputy Commander of the Svoboda Battalion, Ukrainian National Guard Lieutenant Volodymyr Nazarenko said of the situation in Bakhmut that “no one will leave the city.”
“In fact, the ‘heart’ of the city, the city center, the western suburbs, in particular, are under reliable control. Ukrainian forces are the masters of the city,” he said.
The Operational Information of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at 6:00 p.m. notes that “the enemy, despite heavy losses, has not yet abandoned its intentions to enter the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Lugansk”.
“[Противник] continues to focus its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Shakhtyorsky directions. Enemy aviation is actively operating,” reads the message from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook.
Offensive Aid
Political scientist Oleg Ponomar believes that at the meeting in the Ramstein format, optimistic statements for Ukraine were made.
“And this is not about the final aid that will bring the final and definitive victory to Ukraine. It was about strategic assistance for the Ukrainian spring-summer offensive, so that Ukraine wins victories on the battlefield, then with these results it will be possible to sit down at the negotiating table,” Oleg Ponomar told the Russian media correspondent.
He noted that following the results of the meeting, it can be concluded that it is necessary to achieve a better position for Ukraine at the negotiating table.
Ponomar calls the broad support among the countries – from the Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany and the United States, their desire to supply Ukraine with the necessary weapons as important results of the meeting for Ukraine.
“These countries are committed to providing air defense systems, HIMARS shells, artillery and howitzers. No decision has been made on the F-16 fighters, but we are moving in that direction. On this issue, before the Ramstein meeting, the Ukrainian Defense Minister held a tripartite meeting with colleagues from the United States and the Netherlands. The window of opportunity is opening, just like in the case of tanks – we will gradually move towards solving this problem, ”says Oleg Ponomar.
On the possibility of a counter-offensive
Anton Kuchukhidze, international political scientist, co-founder of the United for Ukraine Analysis Center, notes that the participants of the Brussels meeting in fact confirmed the “important political declaration”: to promote an effective counter-offensive of the Ukraine.
“Otherwise, this format would simply not exist. As for the range of necessary weapons, there is no doubt that the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have drawn up such a list and presented it to the participants of the meeting. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin showed during all the Ramsteins that he knows very well what is needed and needed for the Ukrainian Defense Forces. There is hope that in the days or weeks to come we will see the results on the public level of other political decisions which will not only strengthen Ukraine’s defense capability, but also offensive concentration – for defeat the Russians on the battlefield,” Kuchukhidze explained.
The analyst points out that the West has a clear idea of what the policy of aid to Ukraine should be.
“A very important aid program is accepted by Norway, according to various sources, for five to seven billion dollars. The Netherlands demonstrates an active position on Ukraine’s strategic defense needs. In general, the meeting of NATO Defense Ministers on Ukraine is aimed at political support for the task of liberating all legal Ukrainian territories,” said Anton Kuchukhidze.
