Nato chief confident Ukraine ready to make offensive gains

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine will now be in a position to liberate even more of its land. PHOTO: AFP

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany - Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday he is “confident” Ukraine could regain ground in a much-anticipated counter-offensive, as allies vowed unwavering support for Kyiv at a key meeting hosted by the United States.

Representatives from around 50 nations met in Germany to pore through “all the different capabilities, systems, supplies that the Ukrainians need to be able to retake more land”.

“I’m confident that they will now be in a position to be able to liberate even more land,” Mr Stoltenberg told journalists at a meeting of Nato allies in Germany.

He was responding to questions about whether Ukraine has what it needs to successfully execute the offensive.

Mr Stoltenberg had joined talks at the Ramstein airbase after travelling on Thursday to Kyiv.

In the Ukrainian capital, he met President Volodymyr Zelensky, who urged Western allies to send more fighter jets and long-range missiles to help repel Russian troops. 

Mr Stoltenberg acknowledged the need to discuss “new platforms” of support, with the battle now in its second year.

But he also underlined the need to ensure that already supplied weapons continued to work. 

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was hosting the Ramstein talks, also said three key issues were on the table – “air defence, ammunition and enablers” – a reference to logistics and other support. 

“Our support for the forces of freedom in Ukraine holds strong and true,” he said, adding that “we will support Ukraine for as long as it takes”. 

Moscow reacted with anger to the latest gathering in Ramstein.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the allies’ action for Ukraine “confirms their direct involvement in the conflict and participation in the planning of military operations”. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also accused Nato of trying to “absorb and drag Ukraine into the alliance”, showing Russia was right to “launch this operation” to ensure its security.

Air defence

Mr Zelensky on Thursday asked for Nato’s help to “overcome the reluctance” of some member states in providing long-range rockets, modern fighter jets and armoured vehicles.

Nato members have forwarded Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine.

But they have held off sending more modern models such as the US-designed F-16 sought after by Kyiv.

They have, however, provided Ukraine with anti-air missiles, with Kyiv earlier in the week saying it had received the first shipment of Patriots, seen as one of the most advanced US air defence systems.

“Germany and the US have now delivered Patriot batteries, which are operational in Ukraine,” Mr Stoltenberg said, declining to provide exact numbers or details.

The Pentagon said in late March that a group of 65 Ukrainian military personnel had completed training on the Patriot in the US and returned to Europe.

Western partners have also backed Ukraine with deliveries of modern battle tanks, artillery and stacks of other weapons to help roll back Moscow’s invasion. 

“We are not letting up,” German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said after talks. 

Training of 100 Ukrainian soldiers on the German-made Leopard 1 tanks will begin on Saturday, Mr Pistorius said. 

Berlin, along with allies in Denmark and the Netherlands, would also begin with the delivery of “up to 80” Leopard 1 tanks from the middle of this year, he added. 

In eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region, AFP saw a group of servicemen using British-supplied artillery several kilometres from Russian positions. 

One hauled shells to the British-made gun from a nearby cache, while others set coordinates and loaded the barrel before the final order to “fire”. 

“There are the planned targets that we work on. And some appear unexpectedly, for example, to repel an assault when the enemy advances,” said Mr Bogdan, a 40-year-old Ukrainian serviceman from the embattled town of Bakhmut. 

“The enemy is using few military vehicles. Infantry, which is what the enemy has plenty of, goes forward,” he said. 

Nato bid

During Mr Stoltenberg’s visit to Kyiv, the Nato chief was also pressed on allowing Ukraine to join the alliance, but he stressed it was not an immediate priority. 

“All Nato allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a Nato member, but the main focus now is of course on how to ensure that Ukraine prevails,” he said on Friday at Ramstein. 

“Without a sovereign, independent Ukraine, there is no meaning in discussing membership,” he said. 

The Nato chief also said the alliance was examining a “multi-year programme to help Ukraine transition from Soviet-era equipment standards (and) doctrines to Nato standards and doctrines”.

Over a year into its invasion, Russia struck Kyiv with drones overnight in the first such attack for almost a month, although city officials reported no casualties. 

Moscow suffered a setback with one of its fighter jets losing munitions over Belgorod near the Ukrainian border. 

The local authorities reported a blast that injured two people and left a huge crater in the Russian city. 

The region of Belgorod has been repeatedly shelled since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022. AFP

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