Allies discuss supplying Ukraine with various types of combat aircraft - Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this today in Germany, at the Ramstein military base, before the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"On jets: well Allies have delivered. Poland, Slovakia has delivered MiG-29s. There is an ongoing discussion about also other types of jets. I will leave that to the meeting here, and also the ongoing discussion among our Allies and partners. We need to constantly assess, constantly consult. But again, not only about new platforms, but also sustaining all the platforms we have," the NATO chief said.

He welcomed the leadership and efforts of the United States in convening the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and thanked the German government for hosting the meeting.

"I expect that at this meeting, NATO Allies, partners, will announce additional support and again, not only new platforms, but also to sustain the existing platforms. Just to have the battle tanks you need enormous amount of ammunition, fuel. Trailers to be able to move heavy equipment like battle tanks, recovery vehicles. So I think sometimes we underestimate all the logistics that have to be in place just to have operational battle tanks capabilities," said Jens Stoltenberg.

"So maybe it sounds a bit more boring, but the logistics is extremely important. This is now a battle of attrition and a battle of attrition becomes a war of logistics. So, therefore, I welcome all the announcements, I expect, that will come later today," the NATO Secretary General added.

He reminded that the Netherlands and Denmark have already announced 14 Leopard tanks for Ukraine, the United States - more ammunition for HIMARS and more than $300 million for Ukraine's defense needs. Today, this work will continue.

As reported, a regular meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the Ramstein format is taking place in Germany today, with more than 50 countries participating, including NATO Allies and representatives of partner countries. This contact group is the main platform for coordinating all military capabilities that NATO Allies and the international community are providing to Ukraine to protect it from Russian aggression, in accordance with the right to self-defense as enshrined in the UN Charter.