Stoltenberg: NATO compiles data about available air defense systems, focused on Patriot, working with Allies to redeploy some of their systems to Ukraine
NATO has compiled data about the air defense systems it has and is working with Allies to redeploy some of the systems to Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
He said this at a press conference in Capri, Italy, which hosted a meeting of the G7 Foreign Ministers on Thursday, April 18, which was also attended by Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba.
According to Stoltenberg, ever since Kuleba raised the acute issue of providing Ukraine with Patriot systems during a Foreign Ministerial meeting two weeks ago, NATO has stepped up.
"We have compiled data about the different air defense systems we have in NATO, focused on the Patriot systems. And we are working with Allies to ensure that they redeploy some of their systems to Ukraine — Germany had already made a decision — and also came to how to mobilize funding for financing deployments of air defense systems to Ukraine," he said.
The Secretary General also pointed at Ukraine's need for more ammunition, for more deep strike capabilities, for more maintenance, repair capabilities.
"So there is a need now to ensure that we have a more robust and institutionalized framework around the support for Ukraine. And we're discussing how we can establish that within the NATO framework in the near future, combined with a substantial multiyear financial pledge because we need predictable, we need robust, we need long term support to Ukraine to ensure that they fill the gaps and provide more support to Ukraine," he said.
Stoltenberg recalled that on April 19 a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting will be held as convened from the NATO Headquarters in Brussels with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"I spoke with him yesterday. He asked for a meeting on the NATO-Ukraine Council and we'll be convening tomorrow afternoon," he said.