NATO, EU vow to step up support for Ukraine

NATO and the EU have vowed to ramp up cooperation to back Ukraine, which is fighting a war with Russia.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said at a press briefing in Brussels on Tuesday that Kiev's supporters would meet next week with Ukraine's defense minister "to discuss exactly what types of weapons are needed and how allies can provide those weapons."

"This is not only about adding more systems, more platforms, more weapons, but also ensuring that the platforms, the weapons we have already provided are working as they should," Stoltenberg said after signing a joint declaration with the EU's top officials.

"We must continue to strengthen the partnership between NATO and the European Union. And we must further strengthen our support to Ukraine," Stoltenberg added.

"Our declaration makes clear that NATO remains the foundation of collective defense and remains essential for Euro-Atlantic security," Stoltenberg said. "It also recognizes the value of a more capable European defense that contributes positively to our security and is complementary to and interoperable with NATO."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said, "I think that Ukraine should get all the necessary military equipment they need and they can handle to defend the homeland."

"This means, of course, advanced air defense systems, but also other types of advanced military equipment, as long as it is necessary to defend Ukraine," she said.

Countries in the Western military alliance NATO and the EU -- which share 21 members -- have funneled billions of dollars in arms to Kiev that have helped it push back Moscow's forces.

The United States, Germany, and France have announced they will also supply Ukraine with armored fighting vehicles.

Britain mulling supply of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine for first time: Report

Britain is reportedly considering supplying tanks to Ukraine for the first time in the war with Russia.

Meanwhile, Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, said on Tuesday the war in Ukraine was not a conflict between Moscow and Kiev, but a war with the US-led NATO military alliance.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last month accused the West of becoming directly involved in the Ukraine war by supplying the country with weapons and training its soldiers.

Russia launched what it calls "a special military operation" in Ukraine in late February.

US, NATO directly involved in Ukraine war: Russia’s Lavrov

Kiev

Russia initially said the offensive in Ukraine was meant to defend the pro-Russia population in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk against alleged persecution by Kiev. But it soon attacked other regions in Ukraine as well, including the capital.

Since the war began, Kiev's allies, led by the United States and Britain, have been supplying Ukraine with weapons and have slapped Russia with a slew of sanctions. Moscow says such measures will only prolong the war.

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