As soon as he arrived at the NATO meeting in Brussels, the Ukrainian Defense Minister, oleksii reznikov, he took a handkerchief from his pocket, unfolded it and displayed it smilingly to the photographers. There you could see a fighter jet drawing, the weapon of war that kyiv has requested from the allies in order to deal with a possible spring offensive by Russia. An absolute priority for the president Volodimir Zelenskywho already tried to persuade European leaders during his tour last week.
“We vitally need aircraft as a platform to defend our skies. We have to master our Ukrainian sky. They will protect our civilian population, first of all, and certainly our armed forces,” Reznikov said in an interview. with Reuters. The Ukrainian Defense Minister is convinced that the NATO countries will eventually overcome his reluctance and comply with his request, as they have done before with air defense systems or tanks.
However, Alliance defense ministers have coldly welcomed kyiv’s new request for help is extreme, yes, avoiding a resounding ‘no’. “The question of planes is not the most urgent issue right now. But it is an ongoing discussion. We are conducting consultations among the allies on the type of systems to deliver to Ukraine. And that will continue and we have been evolving,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg responded with diplomatic language.
[España enseñará a 55 soldados ucranianos a usar los Leopard en Toledo desde esta misma semana]
In recent weeks, the President of the United States, Joe Biden it has already said it will not supply F-16 fighters to Ukraine. The German Chancellor, Olaf Schölz, also rules out sending fighter jets. For her part, the Defense Minister, Daisy Roblesassures that Spain does not have the type of devices that kyiv requests.
Other countries, such as Poland, have indicated that they are open to the idea, but that they will only act with broad Western support. Britain announces that it will train Ukrainian fighter pilots, but has not yet decided whether to send planes. The allies are concerned that this move will lead to a further escalation of the war and a direct clash between NATO and Russia. “NATO and the NATO allies are not party to the conflict, but we support Ukraine in the right to self-defense,” Stoltenberg explains.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov displays a scarf with fighter drawings during the NATO meeting in Brussels
“The most urgent thing now is to deliver what has already been promised: the armored vehicles, the infantry fighting vehicles, the German Marders, the American Bradleys and of course also the main battle tanks, the leopards and the other tanks that have been compromised”, said the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance.
However, the so-called “coalition of tanks” is beginning to show its first cracks, as some countries such as the Netherlands or Denmark are thinking of falling out, according to press information. The German Defense Minister, Boris Pistoriushas revealed that the allied countries have promised kyiv a total of 48 Leopard 2.
Robles has not specified how many tanks Spain will send, but he has said that our country will train fifty Ukrainian soldiers in handling and repairing of the battle tanks. The Defense Minister expects them to start arriving at the end of March or the beginning of April.
“Countries must deliver as many tanks as possible and as quickly as possible. It would be very disappointing if, after so long pointing the finger at Germany for doing nothing, these countries now do not,” said the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrellin an interview with the German channel Phoenix.
Defense spending in NATO countries as a percentage of GDP (%)
At the meeting in Brussels, the defense ministers discussed the need to increase military spending because “we live in a more dangerous world”, with the threat of Russia, China and terrorism. The NATO countries already committed themselves a decade ago to situating investment in defense at 2% of GDP by 2024. Spain is the second country furthest behind, since it is at 1.01%. Only Luxembourg has worse results.
The heads of government of the Atlantic Alliance plan to set a new goal during the summit to be held in Vilnius in July (Lithuania). Stoltenberg has explained that his intention is to maintain the 2% figure, but to turn it no longer into a spending ceiling but into a minimum that must be tried to be exceeded.
“We need an immediate commitment to spend a minimum of 2%. Because when we look at the needs for ammunition, air defense, training, readiness or high-level capabilities, it becomes obvious that defense spending of 2% is minimal,” argues the Alliance secretary general.
“We live in a more dangerous world. There is a full-blown war in the Ukraine, in Europe, and then we see the persistent threat of terrorism and we also see the challenges that China poses to our security. So it’s obvious that we have to spend more“, Stoltenberg insisted.
For the rest, NATO points out that one year after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine “there are no signs that Russia is preparing for peaceOn the contrary, Russia is launching new offensives.” Despite this, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin believes that Ukraine has a “very good opportunity” to seize the initiative on the battlefield.
