The ministers of foreign affairs of the NATO countries are meeting in Brussels on Tuesday for two days of negotiations aimed at supporting Ukraine defending itself against the Russian invasion.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha on Tuesday called on NATO member countries to send at least 20 additional air defense systems to Ukraine to prevent Russian attacks on the energy system. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
“We realize that the Russians are trying to deprive us of energy production, so we also need more support,” said the head of Ukrainian diplomacy before a meeting with foreign ministers of the Alliance member countries in Brussels.
Allies have been supplying Ukraine with weapons, including air defense systems, since the beginning of the war. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said last week that Germany would supply Kyiv with two IRIS-T air defense systems. In mid-November, the US allowed the Ukrainian military to attack targets in Russia with American ATACMS missiles. The US also announced a new $725 million (€690 million) military aid package for Ukraine on Monday.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said before Tuesday’s meeting that member countries must increase military support to strengthen Ukraine’s position in case it starts negotiating with Russia to end the war.
In response to Ukraine’s calls for NATO to invite it to join, Rutte assured that Kyiv is on the way to membership, but he said the most pressing issue now is to provide Kyiv with more weapons to repel Russian forces. Diplomats cited by Reuters say there is no sign so far that there is agreement among the 32 member states to take such a decision during the two-day meeting in Brussels.
