NATO foreign ministers met at Alliance headquarters with their Ukrainian counterpart. Kyiv demands more weapons and ammunition.
Ukraine “will not give in”for itself and for the security of the entire Atlantic Alliance, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told NATO on Wednesday.
“We must continue to fight, Ukraine will not give in”he told the press at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels before a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council.
“Our strategic objective”a Ukraine within its 1991 borders, also including Crimea annexed by Moscow in 2014, “remains unchanged”he added.
Not only the security of Ukraine is at stake, but also “the security of the entire Euro-Atlantic region”he stressed.
Dmytro Kuleba also recalled that Ukraine was not asking for a commitment from the Americans or Europeans on the battlefield, but for their help to beat Russia.
“Our agreement is very simple, you give us what we need, and we will fight. We are not asking you to sacrifice your lives”he further affirmed.
Ukraine is demanding more weapons and ammunition to be able to prevail on the battlefield where the front lines have barely moved for weeks.
But additional aid from the United States is blocked in the American Congress, due to the reluctance of certain Republican elected officials, and the Europeans are reluctant to spend more to help Kyiv.
Mr. Kuleba, however, expressed confidence in a green light from Congress and recalled the Allies’ commitment to helping Ukraine. “I have no reason to believe that the West lacks political will” to help Ukraine, he said, when asked about the blockages in Europe or the United States.
And defending Europe without including Ukraine would be “futile task”also warned the Ukrainian minister, pleading for his country’s entry into the Alliance.
Without Ukraine, NATO would deprive itself of “the strongest and most experienced army on the battlefield”he explained.
To those who suggest that Ukraine abandon territories to obtain entry into NATO and a guarantee of its security, the Ukrainian minister rejected this.
Asked about this idea, put forward by some in the face of difficulties on the ground and in military support for Kyiv, Mr. Kuleba sharply rejected any hypothesis in this direction.
Those who have such ideas, “should suggest to their governments that they abandon their territory, abandon their people and, if they do, then I am ready to listen to their arguments”he replied.
