On Wednesday 29 November, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced the approval by the foreign ministers of the allied countries and Ukraine, within the NATO-Ukraine Council, of an “ambitious” work programme for 2024, including “energy security, innovation and interoperability”.
In a statement, the NATO-Ukraine Council said that NATO member countries and Ukraine were already taking decisions together “as equals, on a broad range of issues, including interoperability, energy security, innovation, cyber defence, and resilience”, and that they would continue to work on these issues.
The military situation in Ukraine was also discussed. According to Mr Stoltenberg, Kyiv continues to inflict “heavy losses on Russia” and has recaptured 50% of the territory that Russia initially seized. “We have not seen any significant changes on the front line in recent months. But the fighting is intense. And of course, military achievements can be measured in different ways. They can be measured in square metres” or in the destruction of Russian capabilities, he explained.
Mr Stoltenberg estimated that Russia had lost “a large part of its conventional forces, hundreds of aircraft, thousands of tanks and more than 300,000 dead or wounded”. Although Russia is “weaker politically, militarily and economically”, it should not be “underestimated”, warned the Secretary General. According to him, the Russian economy is on a war footing, President Vladimir Putin has a “high tolerance” for human losses and the objectives in Ukraine have not changed. “Russia has built up a large stockpile of missiles in preparation for winter, and we are seeing new attempts to strike Ukraine’s power grid and energy infrastructure. It is trying to leave Ukraine in the dark and cold”, Mr Stoltenberg emphasised.
In the statement, the Allies underline that they remain firmly committed to further increasing their political and practical support for Ukraine and will continue to do so for as long as necessary.
Asked about the delivery of F16s to Ukraine, Mr Stoltenberg hoped that this could begin “as soon as possible”. However, he warned that there is “no miracle solution, no single system that will fundamentally change the situation on the battlefield. It’s a question of multiple capabilities working together at the same time, which will set the Russians back”. “We must prepare ourselves for a long and difficult fight”, he explained.
In addition, NATO is transforming its comprehensive aid package into a multi-year assistance programme “to help rebuild the Ukrainian security and defence sector and to support Ukraine’s deterrence and defence in the long term”, according to the Council statement. “As part of these efforts, we are developing a roadmap for Ukraine’s transition to full interoperability with NATO”, the Allies said, adding that they were also working on new projects for humanitarian demining, medical rehabilitation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers and Ukraine’s defence industrial capability, based on a strategic review of defence procurement.
The Allies also made recommendations on Ukraine’s priority reforms, including fighting corruption, strengthening the rule of law and supporting human and minority rights, with a view to its accession to NATO.
“We agreed on the work programme and sub-structure under committees under the NATO-Ukraine Council to ensure that we follow up concretely on the reforms”, said Mr Stoltenberg.
See the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/9uk (Camille-Cerise Gessant)