Ukraine: NATO boss talks about more heavy weapons "in the near future"
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, November 29, 2022 in Bucharest.
© Stoyan Nenov/REUTERS
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Jens Stoltenberg's announcement comes as Western nations begin to supply Ukraine with heavier weaponry, after being reluctant to do so for a long time.
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“
Recent heavy armament pledges are significant – and I expect there will be more in the near future ,”
Jens Stoltenberg
told
the German daily
Handelsblatt
.
The Secretary General of NATO was speaking before a new coordination meeting, on January 20, of Western countries providing aid to Ukraine, at the American base in
Ramstein
, Germany.
“
We are in a decisive phase of the war
,” continued Jens Stoltenberg.
"
Also, it is important that we provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to win
."
Western nations have long been reluctant to deliver heavier weaponry to Ukraine, citing fears of being drawn into war or provoking Russia.
The range of weapons they provide him has now expanded.
At the beginning of January, France, Germany and the United States promised to send armored vehicles carrying infantry or reconnaissance tanks – 40 German Marders, 50 American Bradleys and
French AMX-10 RCs
.
Poland also said it was ready on Wednesday to deliver
14 Leopard 2 heavy tanks
of German design, which requires the approval of Berlin.
The United Kingdom announced on Saturday that it would deliver 14
Challenger 2 tanks
to Ukraine "
in the coming weeks
", thus becoming the first country to supply heavy tanks of Western construction to Kiev.
Vladimir Putin “
overestimated the strength
” of his army, says Jens Stoltenberg
According to the Secretary General of NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a mistake by attacking Ukraine.
“
He overestimated the strength of his own armed forces.
We see their missteps, their lack of morale, their command problems, their poor equipment
,” he said.
But the Russians "
have demonstrated that they are ready to endure heavy losses to achieve their goal
", he added.
For his part, Vladimir Putin assured that "
the dynamic is positive and everything is going according to the plans of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff
", during an interview on Russian public television broadcast on Sunday.
“
I hope that our fighters will still delight us more than once with their military results,
” wishes the Russian president.
► To read also: Report - Ukraine: after a Russian strike on a building in Dnipro, the difficult search for survivors
(With
AFP
)
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