Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for Western allies to ramp up defense production in order to ensure that Ukrainian forces have what they need to battle Russia’s invasion.
Speaking ahead of a meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Kuleba said there is “no reason to believe the West lacks the political will” to expand production capacity, but that there is a lot of technical work that has to be done to meet that goal.
Kuleba said it is not only Ukraine’s security that is at stake in the war, but also the security and safety of the entire EuroAtlantic region. He also said “nothing will stop us” as Ukraine remains focused on the goal of ensuring its territorial integrity.
“We have to continue. We have to keep fighting,” Kuleba said. “Ukraine is not going to back down.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that Russia is facing economic pressure, pushing it to become more dependent on China, and also military pressure that has meant relying on North Korea and Iran for ammunition and weapons.
The NATO chief cited Ukraine’s recapturing of 50% of the territory Russia held earlier in the war, as well as equipment and personnel losses inflicted on the Russian military. But he also cautioned against underestimating Russia as President Vladimir Putin remains committed to the war.
“Russia’s economy is on a war footing,” Stoltenberg said. “Putin has a high tolerance for casualties, and Russia’s aims in Ukraine have not changed.”
Stoltenberg welcomed the decisions by some NATO allies to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, saying the planes will help bolster both Ukraine’s air defenses and its ability to strike Russian targets. He said however there is no single system that can be deployed to fundamentally change the situation on the battlefield and that it will take a combination of many systems to push the Russians back.
Stoltenberg said allies have to be prepared for a long, hard fight.
Ukraine’s military said Wednesday that Russia launched 21 drones and three missiles during waves of attacks overnight.
Ukraine’s air defenses shot down all 21 of the Iranian-made Shahed drones, which were headed toward the Khmelnitskyi region in western Ukraine, the military said.
Ukrainian forces also downed two of the three missiles, while the third did not reach its target.
There were no reports of damage or injuries.
Some information for this story came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
