On Thursday 13 June, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that there should be no more delays in the delivery of military equipment to Ukraine, as was the case at the beginning of the year with the delay in the adoption of US aid, but also in the implementation of European promises, recalling the consequences this had on the ground.
“Delays in our support have had serious consequences, and we must not allow this to happen again. The good news is that the Allies are stepping up their efforts”, he stressed at the end of a meeting of the Contact Group on the Defence of Ukraine and a NATO-Ukraine Council attended by the Allied and Ukrainian defence ministers.
According to Mr Stoltenberg, delays and shortfalls in deliveries have made the difference on the battlefield and are “one of the reasons why the Russians are now able to push on and occupy more land in Ukraine”.
The US Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, said that there had been “a slowing of the Russian advance and a stabilisation of that part of the front. (...) A few weeks ago, we were worried that the Russians would make a significant breakthrough. I don’t think we’ll be seeing that in the future”. However, a NATO source predicted that the summer would not be “easy” for Ukraine. If Kyiv continues to receive military equipment, this source expects Russia to try to push forward, particularly during the NATO summit.
This source confirmed that Russian air attacks had intensified, particularly on Ukrainian infrastructure and defence industries. The Secretary General stressed that it was “urgent to provide more security assistance to Ukraine”. Although no new announcements were made public at the end of the meetings, he recalled that Germany had recently announced the dispatch of an additional Patriot and Italy of a SAMP/T system, and explained that he expected further announcements in the near future.
Mr Stoltenberg also welcomed the fact that the Allies had reduced or eased their restrictions on the use of weapons against military targets in Russia. “If Russian forces, artillery and missile batteries were safe as soon as they were on the Russian side of the border, it would be extremely difficult for the Ukrainians to defend themselves”, he explained.
According to an Alliance source, the Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries are having an impact on the Russian economy and fuel supplies. For example, Russia has banned petrol exports and increased imports. In addition, international sanctions against Russia are reducing its capacity to repair damaged infrastructure.
While these strikes therefore have had a certain effectiveness, the Allies do not, however, advocate the use of in-depth strikes in Russia.
Long-term vision
In addition to immediate support, Ukraine needs “long-term, predictable support”, said Mr Stoltenberg, hoping that the Allies will agree this Friday on NATO’s security and training assistance plan for Ukraine. “More than 99% of all military support to Ukraine is provided by NATO Allies. It is therefore logical that NATO should play a greater role in these efforts. This will put our support on a firmer footing, provide predictability for Kyiv, and address both immediate and long-term needs”, stressed the Secretary General.
The aim is to combine the plan with a long-term financial commitment from the Allies “with a base of 40 billion (euros) per year”, on which the Secretary General hopes for an agreement at the Washington summit. “This is new money paid each year to Ukraine, because it needs it to make sure it has the resources it needs to repel Russian aggression”, explained Mr Stoltenberg, who advocated a distribution based on the GDP of the Allies in order to share the burden fairly.
Continued cooperation between the EU and NATO
On the same day, the Council of the European Union published the 9th progress report on the implementation of the 74 EU/NATO joint proposals, which highlights the “tangible progress” made between June 2023 and May 2024, particularly in the fight against hybrid threats, operational cooperation, defence and cyber security, defence capabilities, defence and research industries, exercises, the strengthening of defence and security capabilities, and political dialogue.
To see the report: https://aeur.eu/f/cnb (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)