Countries supporting Ukraine reaffirmed their commitment to continued military assistance on Wednesday at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Berlin.
“We are witnessing how Ukraine is holding the line on the battlefield and inflicting heavy casualties on Russian forces,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said after the meeting.
“Even as we face simultaneous challenges, we have to ensure that we are capable of delivering uninterrupted support for Ukraine. We cannot lose sight of Ukraine even with the many pressing security challenges we face,” he added.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius also stressed that support must not be scaled back despite global attention shifting to the Middle East.
“We are maintaining our strong support. Ukraine can continue to rely on us,” he said, addressing an audience that included Ukrainian counterpart Mykhailo Fedorov.
The Ukraine Defence Contact Group is a coalition of around 50 countries coordinating military support for Kiev
Pistorius stressed the continued need for assistance.
“One thing is certain and obvious: Russia benefits from the current developments in the Middle East. The surge in oil prices is pouring money into Putin’s war coffers, at least for the moment.”
He also pointed out that “Ukraine emerges from this winter stronger than before. This strength also becomes visible on the battlefield, where the most recent Russian ground offensives were successfully repelled by Ukraine’s defence.”
UK Defence Secretary John Healey highlighted the growing role of drones on the battlefield, saying unmanned aerial vehicles accounted for 96% of Russian losses in March, which he said reached a record 35,000 troops last month.
He said that drone technology is “defining the battlefield” in the war in which Kiev is reporting record Russian losses.
Healey announced that his government would supply Ukraine with 120,000 drones of various types before the end of this year. He also expressly praised Kiev’s offer to support the Gulf states in defending against Iranian drones and missiles.
Healey noted that even as Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants us to be distracted by the conflict in the Middle East … we remember our duty to Ukraine and we recognize that Russian aggression is growing across Europe.”
(L-R) Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, Boris Pistorius, Germany’s Minister of Defense, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, and John Healey, UK’s Minister of Defense, give a press conference after the meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group at the Federal Ministry of Defense. Kay Nietfeld/dpa