Ukraine’s KYIV (AP) — Thursday, the day after Russia accused Ukraine’s Western partners of aiding in the planning and execution of last week’s missile assault on the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters in the occupied Crimean Peninsula, the secretary-general of NATO met with the president of Ukraine to review the state of the conflict and manpower requirements.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has committed to working to persuade NATO allies to contribute more air defense systems to defend Ukraine’s power facilities and energy infrastructure, which were severely damaged by Russian strikes during the previous winter.
Zelensky also brought up the ongoing strikes by drones, missiles, and artillery, which frequently target residential areas and were held accountable on Thursday for the deaths of at least three civilians in the previous day.
“We need a corresponding intensity of pressure on Russia and a strengthening of our air defense in the face of such intense attacks against Ukrainians, against our cities, our ports, which are crucial for global food security,” Zelenskyy stated.
According to Stoltenberg, NATO has commitments for 2.4 billion euros ($2.5 billion) worth of munitions for Ukraine, including tank, anti-tank guided missile, and 155 mm Howitzer rounds.
“We are getting closer to stopping Russia’s aggression the stronger Ukraine gets,” stated Stoltenberg. Today, Russia may put down its weapons and declare war. Ukraine is not able to choose that. A capitulation by Ukraine would not result in peace. That would entail ruthless Russian rule. At all costs, there could be no peace at all.
NATO membership has been actively pursued by Ukraine, and Stoltenberg reaffirmed on Thursday that Kyiv will be supported for as long as it takes and that Ukraine’s future lies in the transatlantic military alliance.
NATO membership by Ukraine is seen by the Kremlin as an existential danger, and Russia has said that one of the reasons for its invasion of Ukraine was to keep it from joining the alliance.
The attack on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Crimea, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Wednesday, was planned with assistance from American and British security services, and NATO satellites and surveillance aircraft also had a part in it.
Without offering any proof, Ukraine claimed that the attack had left 105 people wounded and 34 policemen dead. Additionally, it said that Adm. Viktor Sokolov, the commander of the fleet, had been assassinated. On Wednesday, Russian state media aired footage of Sokolov conversing with reporters in the Black Sea city of Sevastopol.
Unverified news sources claimed that the attack on the Russian navy facility was carried out using Storm Shadow missiles that the United Kingdom and France had given to Ukraine. The British Ministry of Defense, which has hitherto refrained from commenting on issues pertaining to intelligence, remained silent in response to Zakharova’s statements.
On the same day that Zelenskyy and the French defense minister met to discuss how to continue delivering weaponry to the war effort, Stoltenberg met with Zelenskyy. The British defense minister confirmed the government’s backing for Ukraine’s counteroffensive on Wednesday and promised to supply additional ammunition as the fight moves closer to the time of year when cold and rainy conditions might impede its progress.
About twenty officials from French defense companies, including those that produce robots, artillery, ammunition, drones, and use artificial intelligence and cybertechnology, were part of the group led by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
France is keen to avoid exhausting its own defenses after donating air defense systems, artillery, armored vehicles, and other weapons and supplies to Ukraine.
However, the French government is looking for further means of supporting Ukraine’s military endeavors. Lecornu declared that it would provide the Ukrainian army with direct purchases, occasionally with French subsidies, although it would deliver less weapons to the country.
“It’s also a means for us to maintain our position and firmly establish France’s interests in Kyiv,” Lecornu stated in remarks aired by the French television station BFMTV.
Grant Shapps, the defense secretary for the United Kingdom, told Zelenskyy that he personally felt wronged by what his nation had gone through. Shapps had spent a year hosting a Ukrainian family in his house.
“We still have unwavering support for you and Ukraine,” Shapps stated in a Zelenskyy video. “We are standing side by side with you. We understand how painful what has occurred to you is, and we want to see the conclusion you need and need.
Zelenskyy stated on Thursday that Ukraine is developing a strategy that would specify the doable measures needed to bring its values and standards into compliance with those of NATO.
Zelenskyy added, “It is also crucial that the allies have decided that Ukraine does not require an action plan in order to join NATO.”
NATO members made further promises to help Ukraine during this summer’s annual meeting in Lithuania, but they refrained from inviting the nation to join the alliance. Leaders of NATO declared that “when allies agree and conditions are met,” they would enable Ukraine to join the alliance.
In order to facilitate Ukraine’s faster admission when the conflict with Russia ends, they also made the decision to eliminate barriers off its route to membership.
He said that although there was no proof that Moscow had launched a planned attack on a NATO ally, their actions “close to the Romanian borders are reckless and are destabilizing.”
According to Stoltenberg, NATO is boosting its military, air policing, and surveillance forces to keep an eye on Romania and its eastern frontiers.
“Without a doubt, NATO exists to protect all of its allies,” he declared.
Moldovan officials said that they were attempting to ascertain the origin of a “crashed rocket” discovered in Harbovat Lake. Moldova is a country sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine. According to Moldova’s interior ministry, the remains were exploded on Thursday in the Anenii Noi area, close to the Ukrainian border.
