Ukrinform
February 13, 2023

Stoltenberg: NATO allies may send warplanes to Ukraine so that country can defend itself

NATO…may send warplanes to Ukraine so that the country can defend itself.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this at a press conference ahead of the two-day meeting of NATO Defense Ministers….

“So first, I think we need to distinguish between two things. One thing is what we also discussed very much last year and that was the issue of whether NATO should establish a no fly zone over Ukraine and sending NATO planes to enforce no fly zone. That’s a very different thing than what is discussed now, and that is the possibility of NATO Allies delivering aircraft to Ukraine so they can use themselves,” he said.

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According to him, if NATO was going to send NATO planes to enforce with a NATO presence in the airspace of Ukraine, and no fly zone, that will be direct NATO involvement. The other thing – to provide the Ukrainians with different types of military capabilities that will not make NATO party to the conflict [sic].

…Allies need to be focused on ensuring that the weapons already delivered to Ukraine work. In particular, to ensure that the air defence systems, the artillery, which have been already delivered to Ukraine, have the ammunition, the spare parts, the maintenance, the logistics. Stoltenberg stressed that this is an enormous logistical task that requires deliveries every day.

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As reported, NATO Defense Ministers will meet in Brussels on February 14-15. The topics of discussion will include the security situation in Ukraine. A meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, hosted by the United States, will also take place at NATO HQ on February 14. Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov will participate in the meeting of ministers and in the work of the Contact Group.