NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has stated that the Alliance is ready to support Ukraine in the war against Russia for many years, including help for Kyiv to shift from Soviet-era weapons to modern Western arms and systems. The statement came amid repeated threats by the Kremlin about "and provoking instability" due to Western arms supplies to Ukraine, Reuters informs.
"We need to be prepared for the long term. There is absolutely the possibility that this war will drag on and last for months and years," - Stoltenberg said.
He also added that the West would continue to put maximum pressure on russian President Vladimir Putin to end the invasion of Ukraine, through sanctions and economic as well as military aid to Ukraine.
Most of the heavy weapons NATO countries have sent to Ukraine so far are Soviet-built arms. But the United States and some other allies have started to supply Ukraine with Western howitzers, and Germany is preparing the shipment of Gepard tanks to Ukraine.
At a meeting of 40 defense ministers held this week at the US Navy air base in Germany, Ramstein, it was decided to switch Ukraine to NATO calibers and equipment.
The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov explained that we are already receiving 155-mm artillery.