NATO agrees to work on long-term military support for Ukraine

Al Jazeera:

NATO members have agreed to start planning military support for Ukraine on a long-term basis.

Urged by Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, a meeting of NATO foreign ministers agreed on Wednesday to move towards guaranteeing long-term weapon deliveries to Kyiv. However, proposals to establish a $107bn, five-year fund, met resistance from some quarters.

The alliance chief said allies “agreed to move forward with planning for a greater NATO role in coordinating security assistance and training”.

The move would give NATO a more direct role in coordinating the supply of arms, ammunition and equipment to Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion.

Speaking before the meeting Stoltenberg said Kyiv had “urgent needs,” adding that “any delay in providing support has consequences on the battlefield as we speak.”

“We must ensure reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine for the long haul so that we rely less on the voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments, less on short-term offers and more on multiyear pledges,” he said.

“The reason why we do this is the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine. It is serious … We see how Russia is pushing, and we see how they try to win this war by just waiting us out.”

While the move would not see NATO directly providing weapons to Ukraine – as an organisation with 32 members that functions by consensus, the allies only agree to send non-lethal aid like demining equipment, fuel and medical supplies – it would mark a new phase in its involvement in the war.