In an interview with the British edition of The Guardian, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on the West to increase its production capacity to supply ammunition and weapons to Ukraine, as there are has a “war of attrition”.
“Today’s ammunition consumption rate is higher than today’s production rate,” Stoltenberg said, adding that at the upcoming alliance summit in Vilnius, he will seek agreement from members of the alliance. NATO to set a minimum defense expenditure of 2% of GDP.
Recall that the head of the alliance said on Tuesday that of the thirty countries of the alliance, only seven have reached the NATO military spending target of 2% of GDP, and called on the allies to increase their spending military as soon as possible.
“Without a doubt, we need to do more, and we need to do it faster. The pace we have when it comes to increasing defense spending is not fast enough,” Stoltenberg said. “In a more dangerous world, we need to invest more in defence.”
Recall that the head of Lithuanian military intelligence said earlier this month that Russia has enough resources to continue the war in Ukraine for another two years, if the fighting continues with the same intensity as today.
“The resources that Russia now has are sufficient to continue the war with such intensity as it is today for another two years,” Lithuanian intelligence chief Elegius Paulavičius told reporters. “How long Russia can fight the war will also depend on Russian military support from states such as Iran and North Korea.”
According to Stoltenberg, the fierce fighting currently centered around Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine shows that Russia is ready to “send thousands and thousands more troops, suffer many casualties for little gain.”
“Putin does not plan for peace, he plans to continue the war,” Stoltenberg continued, adding that Russia is ramping up military industrial production and “turning to authoritarian regimes like Iran or North Korea and others. to try to get more weapons”.
Stoltenberg believes that the West has provided enough military equipment, including tanks, combat vehicles and artillery rockets, “to enable the Ukrainians to retake territory captured by Russia.
But the NATO chief has not ruled out member countries going further and sending F-16s or other Western aircraft to Ukraine, following a call by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February. This month, Poland and Slovakia agreed to provide 17 Soviet-style MiG-29 aircraft, but the total number of aircraft available is low.
“We must continue to address the need for empowerment,” Stoltenberg said.
Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers agreed to endorse at a summit in Brussels this week a two billion euro plan that aims to deliver one million artillery shells to the Ukraine over the next 12 months, as well as to replenish EU stocks.
During a visit to Helsinki, the Finnish capital, in early March, Stoltenberg told reporters that Ukraine would become a member of the alliance “in the long term”.
At the same time, he stressed that the most pressing issue was its preservation as an independent country in the face of Russian invasion.
“NATO members have agreed that Ukraine will become a member of our alliance, but also that this is a long-term prospect,” he said.
Recall also that alliance press secretary Oana Lungescu said in February that Stoltenberg would end his term in October, as planned, and not renew his term, as he had done last year.
