Foreign ministers of NATO member states will meet in Bucharest starting today to discuss support for Ukraine and other countries “facing Russian pressure in many different ways”, hours after the largest delegation of European heads of diplomacy, from seven countries, visited Kiev. In Zaporizia, the occupation administration denies that the withdrawal of the nuclear power plant is imminent.
In the Palace of the Parliament of Romania, a building that symbolizes like few others the megalomaniac musings of a dictator, in the case of Ceausescu, the allies of the Atlantic Alliance will debate how to help Ukraine, but also other countries such as Georgia, Moldova and Bosnia, the Russian counter-attack in the first case and the threat in the second case. “For the first time, the meeting will also be devoted to Ukraine’s defense issues, namely new weapons, ammunition, military equipment and the country’s energy system,” said Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who will attend. at the meeting.
NATO’s secretary general had declared days before that he would appeal to allies to provide more support through the so-called comprehensive assistance package, with which the organization has provided fuel, medical supplies, winter equipment and drone jammers. Jens Stoltenberg also said that in the long run, the military alliance will help Ukraine transition from Soviet equipment, training and doctrine to NATO.
Even before its anti-aircraft defenses were strengthened, Kiev had long been asking for longer-range firepower, something hitherto denied by allies. A paradigm shift could be announced at the summit, according to Reuters, if the United States confirms it will provide missiles equipped with the GLSDB system (meaning a small-diameter bomb launched from the surface).
Jointly produced by Sweden’s SAAB and US Boeing, it is launched on commonly available off-the-shelf missiles and has a range of 150 kilometers, more than double what the Ukrainian military has available for use in multi-stage missile systems. launches. , the case of HIMARS. However, if this announcement is confirmed, the system is not expected to go into effect before spring.
The palace in Bucharest will also be the stage for a trilateral meeting between the heads of diplomacy from Turkey, Sweden and Finland. Ankara is using the parliamentary ratification of the Nordic countries’ admission as a bargaining chip for Stockholm to take action against Kurdish groups based there that are considered terrorists by the Turkish power. “The process is progressing well, but measures still need to be taken. Sweden is in fact the country that needs to take more measures,” said Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
In occupied Zaporizhia, Russian authorities have denied that soldiers are withdrawing from the nuclear power plant, as suggested by the Ukrainian state-owned company that operates the power plant. Energoatom’s director general said there were indications that Russian troops could be preparing to leave the facilities captured in March.
Source: DN
