Davos 2023: NATO chief calls for significant boost in arms for Ukraine

DAVOS, Switzerland, January 19 ------ Ukraine needs a “significant increase” in weapons at a pivotal moment in Russia’s invasion and such support is the only way to a negotiated peaceful solution, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

Defense leaders from around 50 countries and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will hold talks at Germany’s Ramstein Air Base on January 20, the latest in a series of meetings since Russian forces swept into Ukraine nearly 11 months ago. “This is a pivotal moment in the war and the need for a significant increase in support for Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “If we want a negotiated peaceful solution tomorrow we need to provide more weapons today.”

The focus in Ramstein is expected to be not on what the United States will provide but on whether Germany will lift its opposition to sending its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine or at least approve their transfer from allied countries. Stoltenberg remained cautious on the subject, saying consultations were continuing, although he welcomed a British decision to dispatch Challenger tanks to Kyiv.

Stoltenberg also said Ukraine needed more air defense systems and armor but also ammunition, spare parts and maintenance capabilities to ensure that its existing weapons continued to function. He said the situation along battlefronts had stabilized over the past weeks, but that the protracted fierce fighting in the eastern city of Bakhmut demonstrated the importance of providing more weapons to support Ukraine.

Russia has focused on Bakhmut in recent weeks, claiming last week to have taken the mining town of Soledar on the city’s northern outskirts. “Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no sign of preparing for peace and therefore he must realize he cannot win on the battlefield,” Stoltenberg added.

Source: rappler.com