NATO alliance members agreed on Thursday to scour their arsenals for more air defense systems to protect Ukraine from Russian ballistic missile attacks, as the alliance marked its 75th anniversary overshadowed by the war on its borders.
Stoltenberg did not spell out any specific pledge or aid target.
Overnight Thursday, a Russian drone attack struck residential buildings in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and an energy facility in the region, killing several people and cutting power for 350,000 residents, Ukrainian officials said.
NATO marks 75th anniversary
NATO foreign ministers celebrated the 75th anniversary of their alliance on Thursday with cake and marching bands, while Stoltenberg reminded the United States that it needed its allies more than ever as the Ukraine war enters its third year.
At the same time, the Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš stressed the importance of sending a clear signal to Russia that Ukraine’s allies will not stand idle as the Kremlin continues its unwarranted aggression.Today marks 75 years since the founding of #NATO—the strongest & most successful alliance in history. Foreign Ministers met to address #Ukraine’s urgent & long-term needs; we must step up even more. We also discussed deepening cooperation with our Indo-Pacific partners. 🇦🇺🇯🇵🇳🇿🇰🇷 pic.twitter.com/VXGHnd9rjo
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) April 4, 2024
“it’s very important that we send a very clear signal to both the Ukrainian people and the soldiers that we are with them and also to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, to the Kremlin and to Moscow, that NATO allies are in it for the long haul to continue to support Ukraine and that we do not accept this unwarranted aggression,” he said.
The Estonian Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna added that the bloc must make real decisions to aid Ukraine as it is “literally fighting instead of us.”During our meeting, I thanked NATO Secretary General @JensStoltenberg for his tireless work to ensure timely and systemic support for Ukraine.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) April 4, 2024
I stressed the urgency of delivering more “Patriot” batteries to Ukraine to protect our people, energy system, and economy from Russian… pic.twitter.com/0aIAOEwlgh
“Happy anniversary but at the same time let’s make real decisions to support Ukraine because Ukraine is literally fighting instead of us,” he stressed.
Ukraine will eventually join NATO: Blinken
Also on Thursday, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Ukraine will eventually join NATO with the alliance anniversary summit helping to “build a bridge” to that membership.
“Ukraine will become a member of NATO. Our purpose at this summit is to help build a bridge to that membership and to create a clear pathway for Ukraine, moving forward. We’ve done a lot of work on that over the last couple of days here in Brussels. A lot more work to be done between now and the summit…But we’re equally focussed…on the immediate and on Ukraine’s needs today, tomorrow, the day after, to help it withstand this ongoing aggression from Russia,” he said.
Russia, NATO now in ‘direct confrontation’
Meanwhile, as NATO marked its 75th anniversary and agreed for continuing support to Ukraine, the Kremlin warned that the alliance is now in ‘direct confrontation’ with Russia.
“…These relations [between Russia and NATO] have now slid to the level of direct confrontation. Indeed, NATO countries and the alliance itself are already involved in the conflict around Ukraine. NATO continues its movement towards our borders,” said Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.
