Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba defended this Wednesday that NATO countries must “change the logic of decision-making” and facilitate the shipment of weapons to prevent tragedies like the one in Ukraine.
“The logic of decision-making must be changed,” the minister said, adding that “decisions must be made before tragedies happen, not to respond to these tragedies.”
Kuleba said his NATO allies have increased shipments of military equipment since the start of the war in response to “new crimes” committed by Russia, claiming it was necessary to take the initiative to prevent further Russian military escalations.
Kyiv’s head of diplomacy spoke at the meeting of NATO foreign ministers ending this Wednesday in Bucharest, Romania, after congratulating allied governments on their commitment to help Ukraine – a former Soviet republic like Russia – continue to support it until its territorial integrity is restored .
Kuleba underlined the importance of military instruction for Ukrainian soldiers in several NATO countries, but argued that these training programs should be accompanied by the sending of more weapons.
“Even the best trained soldier” is vulnerable if he does not have enough equipment, said the minister, who referred to anti-aircraft systems, tanks and other armored vehicles manufactured to NATO standards among the most urgent needs of the Ukrainian army.
When asked about the amount of weapons Ukraine will need to win the war, Kuleba said that “it cannot be precisely calculated” and refused to set a deadline for the achievement of his government’s goal of, militarily or through diplomacy, recover all annexed territory. by Russia since 2014.
“The most important thing was to hear from allies that they are willing to stand by our side for as long as necessary”concluded the minister, who believed that one should not wait until the end of the war to start Ukraine’s accession process to NATO.
In his view, the suspension of Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO, expressed at the 2008 Alliance Summit in Bucharest, constituted a “strategic error” that enabled Russia’s invasion.
“We believe that the evaluation of Ukraine’s candidacy should be started and we believe that the mistakes made in the past can be corrected in 2023″said Kuleba.
Moscow has always believed that the neighboring country’s eventual accession to NATO would constitute a “red line” that should not be crossed.
The next NATO summit is scheduled for July 2023 in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, another former Soviet republic.
Source: DN
