NATO’s new Secretary General, Mark Rutte, travelled to Kyiv on Thursday 3 October to reaffirm the Alliance’s support for Ukraine, at a time when the situation on the battlefield is complicated.
“NATO stands with Ukraine. As the new NATO Secretary General, it is my priority and my privilege to take this support forward, working with you to ensure that Ukraine prevails”, he promised alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
And while the Allies are determined to support Kyiv, “we know that you need more”, acknowledged Mr Rutte, recalling the decisions taken at the Washington summit last July. “We know the need is urgent. And we are working hard to do more, and more quickly”, he promised.
The NATO Secretary General may have changed, but the Ukrainian demands remain the same: more military equipment, more quickly.
“Ukraine must strengthen its positions on the front line so that we can increase the pressure on Russia in the interests of fair and real diplomacy. This is why we need a sufficient number of quality weapons, particularly long-range weapons, with which, in my opinion, our partners are already dragging their feet”, regretted Mr Zelensky. He also again insisted on the need to lift restrictions so that military targets in Russia could be targeted.
Alliance and Ukraine leaders will meet on 12 October in Ramstein to discuss support for Kyiv. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)