NATO Chief Says Allies Haven’t Been Delivering Arms to Ukraine Fast Enough

Stoltenberg met with Zelensky in Ukraine on Monday as Russia continues to make gains on the battlefield

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday and took aim at his own alliance for its pace of weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

“I know that serious delays in support have meant serious consequences on the battlefield,” Stoltenberg said at a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky. “For months, the US was unable to agree on a package. And European Allies have been unable to deliver ammunition at the scale we promised.”

Stoltenberg said Ukraine has been forced to ration ammunition but promised that aid deliveries will speed up and pointed to the recent US authorization of $61 billion in new spending on the proxy war. “I welcome that the United States has now approved a major new package. It provides over 60 billion US dollars worth of aid, including critical air defense and artillery ammunition,” he said.

The US has already announced $7 billion in new weapons for Ukraine, although $6 billion is in arms that the US is purchasing for Ukraine, which means they won’t be delivered right away. Zelensky told reporters that arms shipments have arrived but that his forces need more. “Some deliveries have already been done. I won’t [say] more. I will only say that we haven’t gotten all we need to equip our brigades,” he said.

The new US aid is not expected to prolong the war but not help Ukraine’s chances of beating back Russian forces. Stoltenberg’s visit to Ukraine came after the Ukrainian military announced it had withdrawn from three villages in Donetsk, and Russian troops continued to advance.

Besides the lack of enough ammunition, Ukraine is also facing a dire manpower shortage. The Ukrainian government passed new mobilization laws, but it’s unclear if it will be able to find enough conscripts. Kyiv is looking to pressure military-age men living abroad to come back and fight, and some NATO countries have expressed interest in helping.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.