NATO allies will continue to provide major military and financial help to Ukraine as it faces the powerful foe, the Pentagon said on Wednesday following the first working session of the Madrid Summit, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
The assembled leaders agreed to a comprehensive assistance package for Ukraine that includes secure communications gear, fuel, medical supplies, body armor, equipment to counter mines and chemical and biological threats, and hundreds of portable anti-drone systems.
"Over the longer term, we will help Ukraine transition from Soviet-era equipment to modern NATO equipment, boost interoperability and further strengthen its defense and security institutions," NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg was quoted as saying.
President Biden said on Wednesday that Russia's Putin wanted to fracture the alliance, but he ended up increasing it: At today's summit, Sweden and Finland were invited to join the alliance.
"The decision to invite Finland and Sweden to become members demonstrates that NATO's door is open," Stoltenberg said. "It demonstrates that President Putin did not succeed in closing the NATO door. And it also demonstrates that we respect the rights of every nation to choose its own path."
The leaders also agreed on a new strategic concept that will guide the alliance moving forward. "We face a radical change to our security environments, and strategic competition is rising around the world," Stoltenberg said.
NATO has agreed to a long-term financial and military aid package to modernise Ukraine’s largely Soviet-era military.
To that end, “We stand in full solidarity with the government and the people of Ukraine in the heroic defence of their country,” the leaders said.
Alex Raufoglu
Washington D.C.
Politics
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