By Pietro Guastamacchia
Key Takeaways:
At the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, U.S. Undersecretary Elbridge Colby said allies should plan for a longer war: Russia is adding troops and output; “we cannot predict when this tragic war will end.” NATO’s Mark Rutte: delays cost lives; “dig deeper.”
UK: £100m (€116m) via NATO’s PURL for urgent kit, including Patriots, before winter; still aiming for 120,000+ drones this year (~25,000 already sent). Germany: Patriot PAC-2 and AIM-9 from Bundeswehr stocks, more IRIS-T, and funding tens of thousands of long-range artillery rounds via the UK. Pistorius: Russia hitting infrastructure as the front crawls and winter air attacks loom.
Ukraine’s Evgeniy Khmara: Kyiv needs ~300 Patriot interceptors for winter; thousands are on contract but not until next year. Ask: lend Patriots from allied stocks now; Kyiv will replace them when its orders land.
(EurActiv) — Allies must prepare for a prolonged war in Ukraine, the US warned on Tuesday, as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on countries to “dig deeper” and step up military support for Kyiv.
“We cannot predict when this tragic war will end,” US Undersecretary of Defence Elbridge Colby told the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG). Russia is strengthening its forces and increasing production, he said, urging allies “to be prepared for a longer conflict”.
Rutte echoed the call for greater support, warning that “delays simply cost human lives”.
He urged allies to step up support. “Nations must dig deeper. We do not have a choice, I believe.”
The warnings came as the UK and Germany announced new military support for Ukraine, with both putting air defence at the centre of their contributions ahead of the winter.
The UK will contribute £100 million (€116 million) for Ukraine’s urgent military needs, including Patriot missiles and other air-defence equipment. The funding will be channelled through NATO’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), with deliveries expected before winter.
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said Britain “won’t flinch” in its support for Ukraine. The UK is also continuing its commitment to deliver more than 120,000 drones this year, including interceptor, reconnaissance and attack drones, with around 25,000 already delivered.
Germany will provide urgently needed Patriot PAC-2 missiles and AIM-9 air-to-air missiles from Bundeswehr stocks, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said, while appealing to other UDCG members to do the same.
Berlin will also continue deliveries of IRIS-T air-defence systems and guided missiles and fund several tens of thousands of long-range artillery rounds to be supplied through the UK.
Pistorius warned that Russia is increasingly targeting Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian targets as its battlefield advances remain slow, while Russian air attacks are expected to intensify as temperatures fall.
Ukraine has estimated it needs around 300 Patriot interceptors to withstand the expected winter campaign.
Speaking at the meeting, Ukrainian Defence Minister Evgeniy Khmara said Kyiv is contracting thousands of Patriot missiles, but they will not arrive until next year.
Khmara asked allies to provide Patriot systems from their existing arsenals now, with Kyiv ready to replace or replenish those systems once its contracted missiles arrive.
