President Volodymyr Zelensky has knuckled down on his plea for Western aircraft after securing commitments for tanks, air defence and precision missiles.
But allies insist they are scrambling to ensure his forces have the ammunition they need on the ground to push back renewed Russian offensives.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said he was focused on building an "aviation platform", winning more promises of tank supplies and ensuring ammunition stocks.
He was speaking at the meeting with more than 50 nations backing Kyiv at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
"This has become a grinding war of attrition and therefore it's also a battle of logistics," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
"This is a huge effort by allies to actually be able to get in the ammunition, the fuel, the spare parts, which are needed."
Ukraine's Western supporters -- spearheaded by the United States -- have already supplied billions of dollars of arms to help Kyiv hold Moscow back.
- 'Fighting has intensified'-
Now, just under a year into the war, Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have started a long-awaited new offensive in east Ukraine.
"Fighting has intensified and that means that our support for Ukraine also has to intensify," Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said.
The fighting is consuming vast quantities of ammunition, straining stockpiles and industries on both sides of the confrontation.
Stoltenberg warned that Kyiv's current rate of expenditure was "many times higher" than the output in NATO countries.
Allies continue to raid their shelves for the rounds -- especially 155-millimetre shells -- that Ukraine is firing by the thousands each day.
NATO is scrambling to get its factories to pump out more, and allies are eyeing plans for joint weapons purchases, higher defence spending and longer-term contracts.
Estonia has called for joint purchasing of arms by European Union countries to bulk buy weapons for Ukraine.
- Jet not 'must urgent' -
Zelensky issued a powerful call during a trip to London, Paris and Brussels last week for NATO members to send fighter planes and longer-range missiles.
The Ukrainian leader won a commitment from Britain to train pilots but did not get any firm promises that his forces will get Western planes.
"We know that Ukraine needs any kind of help and that means also the jet fighters," Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said.
Slovakia has said it is willing to discuss sending Soviet MIG-29 planes to help replace losses to Ukraine's current stocks.
Dutch minister Ollongren said Kyiv had requested US-made F-16 jets from the Netherlands.
"We have to debate this with our partners, also with the United States, and we have to think about feasibility," she said.
"It is something that will take time and it is best done behind closed doors."
Stoltenberg insisted "the issue of aircraft is not the most urgent issue now, but it is an ongoing discussion".
"The urgent need now is to deliver what has already been promised, to deliver the armoured vehicles, the infantry fighting," he said.
Ukrainian troops have started training on German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks in Europe but there are concerns some nations that have pledged supplies are now stalling on sending them.
Ukraine using more munitions than NATO producing: Stoltenberg
Brussels (AFP) Feb 13, 2023 -
NATO needs "to ramp up production" of ammunition as Ukraine's rate of usage is far outstripping current capacities and draining stockpiles, the defence alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said Monday.
"The war in Ukraine is consuming an enormous amount of munitions, and depleting allied stockpiles," Stoltenberg told journalists.
"The current rate of Ukraine's ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production. This puts our defence industries under strain."
Stoltenberg admitted that NATO was facing a "problem" as current waiting times for large-calibre ammunition have grown from 12 to 28 months.
But he insisted he was confident steps taken so far meant NATO members were "on the path that will enable us both to continue to support Ukraine, but also to replenish our own stocks".
Ukraine's Western backers -- who have supplied billions of dollars of arms -- will meet Tuesday in Brussels to discuss Kyiv's weapons demands as Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin is "launching new offensives".
The NATO chief said there was an ongoing discussion among allies about Ukraine's demands for modern fighter jets to be sent to the battlefield.
But he said a key focus was on making sure the necessary amounts of weaponry flowed to Kyiv's forces on time and that allies made good on commitments already made on heavy guns and armoured vehicles.
"It is clear that we are in a race of logistics," Stoltenberg said.
"Key capabilities like ammunition, fuel, and spare parts must reach Ukraine before Russia can seize the initiative on the battlefield. Speed will save lives."
US NATO ambassador Julianne Smith said the alliance was looking to work "hand in glove" with industry to ramp up output and slash production times.
"This is absolutely essential to ensure that we can keep supporting Ukraine while also ensuring that we collectively can protect every inch of allied territory," she said.
- Fighter jet plea -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a powerful plea during a trip to London, Paris and Brussels last week for NATO members to send fighter planes to Kyiv.
Zelensky won a commitment to train pilots from Britain but did not get any firm promises that his forces will get Western planes.
Diplomats from several NATO allies said they did not expect there to be any firm announcement from Tuesday's meeting on supplying jets, but that momentum was building.
The United States -- by far the biggest supplier of arms so far to Ukraine -- is seen as key as it could greenlight sending the widely used F-16 fighters.
"The United States remains committed to getting Ukraine what they need," Smith said.
"We leave that to each sovereign nation to determine how they want to provide assistance and what type of assistance for Ukraine that is left in the hands of each individual capital."
Related Links
Space War News
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
