NATO Defence Ministers are meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to prepare for Vilnius Summit in July and address stepping up support for Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference on Wednesday.
“We will discuss a multi-year package of support (for Ukraine), with substantial funding,” he stated.
The ministerial will begin with a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, preceded by the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, led by the United States.
Ministers will also address how to further strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defence with new regional plans to defend NATO territory.
The regional plans require a new NATO force structure. This will provide well over 300,000 troops at high readiness. Backed by substantial air and naval power, he said.
Ministers will also meet with small, medium and large arms producers from NATO countries, and will review a new Defence Production Action Plan.
The plan aims to swiftly address shortfalls in NATO arms stocks, building on USD 1 billion in joint procurement just for 155mm ammunition underway this year by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency.
Commenting on Ukraine’s ongoing counter-offensive against Russia, Stoltenberg said: “It is still early days, and we do not know if this will be a turning point of the war, but we see that the Ukrainians are making advances and liberating more land.” The Nuclear Planning Group will also convene during the ministerial to “discuss the nuclear aspects of the current security environment, and consider the ongoing adaptation of NATO’s nuclear deterrence,” said Stoltenberg.
This will be the last meeting of NATO Defence Ministers before the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 11 and 12 July.
Source: Kuwait News Agency