Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance should take over the lead role in providing military aid and training to Ukraine, amid concerns that political change in the United States and other countries could weaken support for Kyiv, as Russia and ally Belarus launched joint drills on the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
“The most urgent task is of course to ensure that we provide the support to Ukraine for as long as it takes, and therefore I expect Nato allies to agree to have Nato in the lead in providing security assistance, training for Ukraine, and also to agree a long-term financial commitment to Ukraine,” Mr Stoltenberg said as he met leaders of the so-called Bucharest Nine, which is made up of Nato states in central and eastern Europe.
Ukraine needs a “predictable, stable flow of military support” and no repeat of “the gaps and delays we saw during the winter”, he said, referring to a six-month halt to US military aid to Kyiv caused by political wrangling in Washington.
Tens of billions of dollars in crucial military supplies for Ukraine was blocked in Congress by hardline supporters of former US president Donald Trump, who hopes to win re-election later this year. Russia pushed back Kyiv’s forces in eastern Ukraine as they waited for arms and ammunition to arrive.
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The recent European elections exposed the weakness of the ruling parties in France and Germany, fuelling concerns over the stability of those countries’ long-term backing for Kyiv. Hungary and, to a lesser extent, Slovakia oppose military support for Ukraine, and their presidents did not attend the B9 summit in the Latvian capital, Riga.
In place of a communique approved by all members, the B9 meeting ended with a joint statement from the chairs, Poland and Romania, and host Latvia.
“Russia is and will remain the most significant and direct threat to Allied security. We will work on a comprehensive strategy to contest, constrain and counter Russia…for as long as Russia continues its hostile policies and actions,” the statement said, while also accusing Moscow of conducting sabotage, cyberattacks, propaganda campaigns and other “hybrid activities” against Nato states.
Russia and Belarus, which both border Latvia, began joint exercises on Tuesday to practice for the “combat use” of tactical nuclear weapons, which Belarus agreed last year to host on its territory as relations with the West collapsed.
“The situation on the European continent is quite tense… therefore, of course, such exercises and maintaining combat readiness are very important for us,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
He also denounced a US decision to lift a ban on the provision of US arms and training to the Azov brigade of Ukraine’s national guard, which grew out of a volunteer battalion of the same name which had its roots in far-right groups.
The US state department said it had found no evidence of gross human rights abuses by Azov, which as a battalion and brigade has fought in most of the hardest battles of Ukraine’s 10-year defence against Russian aggression.
