Ukraine urgently needs air defense systems, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, once again calling on Kyiv’s allies to expedite military aid shipments. In addition to air defense systems, ammunition is also needed.
“Ukraine simply cannot wait. It needs air defences, ammunition and aid. Now,” Stoltenberg said on April 10 during a meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
The situation on the front lines is difficult, and delays in providing aid allow the Russians to gain an advantage, emphasizes the NATO Secretary General.
“NATO is actively working to ensure reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine now and for the long haul, so that Ukraine relies less on the voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments. Less on short term offers on more on multiyear pledges. Moscow needs to understand that they cannot wait those out and, therefore, a package for Ukraine with predictable robust support is what we are working on now in NATO,” Stoltenberg said.
Meanwhile, US General Christopher Cavoli, the Supreme Commander of NATO’s Allied Forces Europe, warned that soon Russia’s advantage over Ukraine in artillery could reach 10 to 1.
“If one side can shoot and the other side can’t shoot back, the side that can’t shoot back loses. So the stakes are very high. They’re really dependent this year on us, Mr. Chairman. And without our support, they will not be able to prevail,” Cavoli said at a hearing of the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.
Russia’s advantage in artillery on the battlefield will further increase without support for Ukraine from the United States. Currently, Russia is firing five artillery shells for every shell fired by Ukrainian forces, and this disproportion could increase to “10 to 1” in the coming weeks.
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