Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited NATO headquarters in Brussels for the first time on Wednesday, on the first day of the meeting of the Alliance’s defense ministers. Zelensky heard assurances from his allies that NATO “will not abandon” Ukraine, at a time when the US Congress is paralyzed without a leader and has not yet approved the new aid package for Kiev and the world is focused on the conflict between Israel and Israel. Hamas. Today, the ministers’ focus should be on the Middle East, with the intervention of the holder of the Israeli defense portfolio via videoconference.
Zelensky, together with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, called for more air defense, long-range missiles and ammunition at the press conference. “How we can survive next winter is important to us,” he said. “We are preparing, we are ready. Now we need some support from the leaders. That is why I am here today,” the Ukrainian president added.
“Russia is intensifying attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and is once again preparing to use winter as a weapon of war,” Stoltenberg said, classifying that “for this reason it is even more important that we intensify and maintain our support to Ukraine” in the upcoming months.
“Last winter, Russia wanted to use it as a weapon against us by destroying our power plants and our supply network. I thank every country, every leader, who has helped us with air defense and electrical equipment. It was truly a lifeline to our lives. our people,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter (renamed X). ‘This winter Russia will try to repeat this’ he warned, saying he also inspires others. “In the attack on Israel, terrorists chose one of the largest power plants as their target. Until last winter, when Russia did that, other terrorists had not done that,” he said.
Since Hamas’s actions in Israel this weekend, Zelensky has tried to draw parallels between the attacks and the Russian invasion. ‘Terrorists love [Vladimir] Putin or like Hamas are trying to hold free and democratic nations hostage and want power,” said the Ukrainian president, quoted by Reuters. Russia “still has sufficient resources to incite conflicts and turn them into large-scale tragedies, and this is happening in the Sahel. And it could happen even more painfully in Israel and the Middle East.” he added. The Kremlin has already declared the Ukrainian accusations unfounded.
The Ukrainian president has already admitted that he fears that the crisis in Israel could distract from the war in Ukraine. Monday marks 600 days since the invasion. “Who knows what it’s going to be like? I don’t think anyone knows,” he said. But US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated US support for Kiev “for as long as necessary”, making clear Washington has the ability to deploy resources to respond to crises in multiple locations. “We will stand firm for Israel, just as we continue to support Ukraine,” he said. “The terrorists will not change. They must lose,” Zelensky said.
In terms of concrete support, Austin announced a new package of $200 million in military aid to Ukraine. It is the first announcement since Congress, to avoid a federal government shutdown, left out more money for Kiev from the legislation. Despite this, the US government can still remove approximately $5 billion in military equipment from the US arsenal to help Ukraine.
Zelensky took advantage of his visit to Brussels and also met with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. He announced that his country is available to send F-16 fighters to Ukraine from 2025, without specifying figures. The Belgians also announced that Ukraine will receive 1.7 billion euros in interest from Russian funds that were frozen after the invasion of the country. De Croo said that “hundreds of millions” of Russian assets had been frozen, generating “billions” in interest. Belgium is the first country to make this money available to Kiev.
“I welcome the new announcements made in recent hours, including Belgium and Denmark, which have confirmed their plans to supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Canada will donate tens of millions of dollars in clothing and military equipment this winter. Germany has announced a one billion euro package, focusing on the Patriot and IRIS-T air defense systems. Great Britain is providing more than 100 million euros for more air defense and mine clearance equipment. And the US will supply air defense artillery and rocket ammunition worth more than 200 euros. million dollars,” Stoltenberg emphasizes.
Source: DN
