Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is asking his NATO allies for more air defenses. He joined his counterparts from the alliance in Brussels on Thursday.
Ukraine is not a NATO member, but Kuleba appealed to the bloc for further help. He said, “Saving Ukrainian lives, saving Ukrainian economy, saving Ukrainian cities depends on the availability of Patriots and other air defense systems.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said member nations are already providing 99 percent of Ukraine’s military support and that they understand the “urgency.” He added that they will look into ways to provide those systems.
However, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said his country will oppose any proposal that would lead to an escalation of the war.
Russian leaders say their relations with NATO have already “slipped” to the level of “direct confrontation.” They have accused the alliance of “expanding its military infrastructure” toward their borders.
Stoltenberg warned that countries he refers to as Russia’s “friends in Asia” — China, Iran and North Korea — are helping it to continue a “war of aggression.” He invited representatives from Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand to NATO headquarters for discussions on how to counter “global security consequences.” Source: NHK
