BERLIN: NATO chief Mark Rutte Wednesday urged members of the military alliance not to “lose sight” of the Ukraine conflict, and to boost their backing for Kyiv to $60 billion in 2026.
His comments came at the start of a meeting in Berlin of defence ministers from Ukraine’s key supporters, including Germany and Britain, with the conflict against Russia now in its fifth year.
“We have to ensure that we are capable of delivering uninterrupted support for Ukraine,” Rutte said. “We cannot lose sight of Ukraine.”
With the world’s attention focused on the US-Israeli war against Iran in recent weeks, fears are growing that support for Kyiv is waning.
US-led talks to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have stalled since the Iran war began, and the United States under President Donald Trump has been scaling back its support for Kyiv.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky complained on Tuesday that US peace negotiators “have no time for Ukraine” because of the Middle East conflict.
Rutte emphasised Wednesday that “supporting Ukraine’s fight is as important as ever,” and said that “too few countries share too much of the burden”.
“All allies must invest more to achieve the target of $60 billion of security and defence support to Ukraine this year,” he said.
Boosting Ukraine’s air defences as well as supplies of drones, missiles and long-range artillery ammunition were priorities, he said.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that Ukraine had just endured “one of the most difficult” winters in its history.
Russia had launched hundreds of ballistic and cruise missiles and thousands of drones at Ukraine in a bid to “break our energy system and leave our people in darkness,” he said.
“But Ukraine endured,” he added, saying that greatly strengthened air defences had helped defend against the attacks.
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