US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a press conference with defense ministers and President Zelensky that support for Israel will not come at the expense of support for Ukraine. They are present at the NATO summit being held today in Brussels. “The United States will assist Ukraine as long as necessary,” Austin said.
The United States has promised military support to Israel, but is also a vital arms donor to Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said before the press conference that he did not expect US support to lead to supply shortages for Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO must “continue and increase” its support for Ukraine. It is expected that several announcements in this field will be issued by member states during the summit. Stoltenberg said Russia would likely try to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as it did last year. Zelensky also warned about this.
Stoltenberg noted that if Ukraine is able to defend itself better against these types of Russian attacks thanks to Western arms supplies, the Ukrainian economy will also continue to function better. This puts Kiev in a better position to maintain and strengthen its army.
Niels Warlow
