NATO Secretary General announces cooperation intensification with Ukraine

NATO is increasing cooperation with Ukraine. In particular, it is about increasing Ukraine's ability to independently produce shells and weapons, but not only that.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated this in his speech at the Defense Industry Forum, writes Rubryka.

"We need closer cooperation with partners. We are increasing cooperation with Ukraine. Now we, as NATO, are taking a leading role in guaranteeing security and training," he said.

Stoltenberg noted that a 700-people command would be created in Germany and some centers in the Alliance's eastern member states.

"We are also doing this to help not only support but also jointly invest and develop projects, increase Ukraine's ability to independently produce weapons and ammunition," said the Secretary-General.

Stoltenberg did not hide the fact that the reality of the war in Ukraine demonstrated not only that the reserves and production capabilities of the Alliance countries were too small but also huge gaps in the compatibility of the forces of the partner countries.

"The war in Ukraine demonstrated that our reserves were insufficient, as well as our production capacity. It also revealed serious deficiencies in our interoperability. The most famous example is the German-Dutch brigade, which was supposed to be ready for joint action, but in reality, standard 155 mm caliber ammunition, which the Netherlands has, cannot be used in German howitzers and vice versa," said the Secretary-General.

He emphasized that it is impossible to ensure a strong defense for NATO without a strong defense industry, which produces everything necessary —weapons, ammunition, etc. It is thanks to the modern defense industry that NATO forces remain at the cutting edge of technical progress. According to Stoltenberg, close cooperation between defense industry enterprises and national governments is also important to achieve interoperability between the armed forces of allied countries.

In order to solve these problems, the NATO Secretary General believes the partners should increase their defense budgets and learn how to use them better when implementing joint projects and joint purchases.

The head of NATO recalled that ten years ago, during the summit in Wales, when the allies decided to increase defense spending, only three countries spent 2% of GDP on defense. Currently, 23 countries have reached this indicator, and some have surpassed it. The rest of the Alliance has pledged to bring defense spending up to 2% of GDP soon, as this is already seen as the minimum threshold. This adds billions to national defense budgets and allows governments to enter new joint long-term contracts with the defense industry.

Stoltenberg cited several examples of successful cooperation between defense industry enterprises of NATO countries. In particular, F-35 fighter jets are mostly produced in the USA, but also in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands and Great Britain. Another successful example is the SAAB Gripen fighter jet, a Swedish development with American components.

"NATO forces are armed with the Storm Shadow missile, or SCALP (air-to-ground missile – ed.), which has proven its critical importance in Ukraine and resulted from a joint Franco-British industrial complex. NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) plays a coordinating role in such orders. Last year, thanks to the agency, contracts for the production of munitions and military capabilities were concluded. Today, NSPA signed a contract to produce Stinger missiles with more than $700 million capacity," NATO Secretary General said.

It will be recalled that at the end of May, it was reported that NATO would create a permanent structure to organize the supply of weapons to Ukraine and their financing. The first decisions can be made already at the Alliance summit, which is currently taking place in Washington from July 9 to 11.

In mid-June, NATO defense ministers approved the "operational plan for expanding support to Ukraine." As the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umyerov noted, NATO's new plan for expanding military support to Ukraine will involve the bloc in helping Kyiv. In particular, in this way, Ukraine will be able to receive everything it needs promptly.

In addition, NATO plans to create a new special envoy position in Ukraine to strengthen its long-term commitment.

NATO anniversary summit

We remind you that the NATO anniversary summit, which is being held at the level of heads of state, is taking place in Washington. President Volodymyr Zelensky heads the Ukrainian delegation.

As reported, the leaders of the USA, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Romania announced on Tuesday that five strategic Patriot and SAMP-T air defense systems, as well as dozens of tactical air defense systems, will be transferred to Ukraine in the near future.

Speaking in Washington, President Volodymyr Zelensky explained how many F-16 fighter jets Ukraine needs and pointed out the nuance of the Patriot, stressing that they are still insufficient. He also called on the US to lift restrictions on strikes on military targets on the territory of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea will launch four new joint projects related to assistance to Ukraine, artificial intelligence, cyber security, and countering disinformation.

In addition, NATO countries will provide more than 7 million dollars to support women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.