Allied Defence Ministers will meet on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 February for a contact group meeting about Ukraine, followed by a ministerial meeting.
During the contact group, representatives of approximately 50 countries will discuss further support for Ukraine with Ukrainian Defence Minister, Oleksii Reznikov. Mr Reznikov will also take part in the NATO meeting.
On Monday 13 February, Secretary General of the Alliance Jens Stoltenberg called on the Allies to step up their support for Ukraine. “President Putin (...) is launching new offensives. So we must continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to win. And to achieve a just and sustainable peace”, he emphasised.
In his opinion, “what President Putin is doing now, is sending thousands and thousands of more troops, accepting a very high rate of casualty, taking big losses, but putting pressure on the Ukrainians. And what Russia lacks in quality, they try to compensate in quantity”.
“It is clear that we are in a race of logistics”, warned Mr Stoltenberg, warning that essential capabilities had to reach Ukraine before Russia was able to take the initiative on the battlefield.
When asked about sending planes, the Secretary General said he expected the issue to be discussed over the next two days. And he added: “Whatever the opinion may be about aircraft, that will take time. What is needed now, is urgent support for Ukraine”. He said that his priority was to ensure that the commitments that had already been made by the Allies were fulfilled as soon as possible, “because every day counts”.
Replenish stocks
Mr Stoltenberg also noted that “the war in Ukraine is consuming an enormous amount of munitions, and depleting Allied stockpiles”. “The current rate of Ukraine’s ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production. This puts our defence industries under strain”, he said, adding that the waiting times for large-calibre ammunition had increased from 12 to 28 months.
Defence Ministers will therefore focus on ways to increase their defence industrial capacity and replenish stocks. “So we need to ramp up production. And invest in our production capacity”, Stoltenberg said, explaining that NATO plans to increase its ammunition stockpile targets as part of the NATO defence planning process.
Strengthening security on land, at sea and in the air
The ministers will also discuss strengthening the Alliance’s deterrence and defence. Mr Stoltenberg was of the opinion that it was necessary to ensure that the Allies had the right forces and capabilities in the long term. According to him, the Allies will approve new directions in which NATO's defence planning can go.
The meeting should also provide an opportunity for the ministers to discuss increasing protection for critical underwater infrastructure. “We have decided to establish a new coordination cell at NATO Headquarters, to map our vulnerabilities, and engage with industry. This will support our efforts to prevent and counter threats to critical infrastructure, including undersea cables and pipelines”, said Mr Stoltenberg. He added that the Alliance intended to work closely with the EU in the framework of the NATO-EU task force on resilience and critical infrastructure.
Ministers should also come to an agreement on establishing a new virtual network of national and commercial satellites. “This will improve our intelligence and surveillance. And support NATO missions and operations”, Stoltenberg said, adding that it would also allow the Allies to increase the sharing of space-based data with the NATO command structure. He explained that this would facilitate better navigation, communications and early warning of missile launches.
Finally, ministers are due to discuss how to intensify practical support provided to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova, “three valued NATO partners, which face Russian threats”, said Mr Stoltenberg. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)