NATO admits that it failed to promise military aid to Ukraine, but says it is confident of change: 797th day of war

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg admitted that the Atlantic alliance countries had failed to fulfill promises of military aid. “The United States spent six months to agree on a package and European allies did not provide the munitions that were promised. But now I am confident that things will change,” he said upon arrival in Kiev.

Stoltenberg’s visit to Ukraine comes after Russia assured that it had captured a village in the Donetsk region, as well as more territory on the front line. “The Russian army is now trying to take advantage of a situation where we are waiting for supplies from our partners… and that is exactly why the speed of deliveries means stabilizing the front,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. after the meeting with the head of NATO.

Zelensky and Stoltenberg discussed the creation of a 100 billion euro military aid fund over the next five years. In a message published from Kiev on his X social network account, the NATO leader stated that “the situation is difficult” for Ukrainian forces on the combat fronts, but argued that “it is not too late for Ukraine to prevail” and that “more support is on the way.” “NATO is also getting involved in the long term, putting Ukraine on an irreversible path towards the alliance”, said the organization’s secretary general.

Zelensky said that new Western support has started to arrive, but slowly, and that this additional help will be needed to stop a possible Russian offensive in the summer. The NATO secretary general also recalled that “serious delays in support meant serious consequences on the battlefield” for Ukraine.

OTHER NEWS THAT MARKED THE DAY:

⇒ In the first quarter of this year, 25 children died in attacks in Ukraine, which corresponds to an increase of almost 40% compared to 2023, according to UNICEF. Nine of the victims died in the first three weeks of April. The institution also said that it needs more than 233 million euros to guarantee support for children and families in Ukraine.

⇒ The Ukrainian army claimed “to have repelled 55 attacks” on several villages north and east of Novobakhmutivka, a village in the Donetsk region that Moscow said it had captured. Kiev guarantees that its troops “continue to contain the enemy” in several locations west of the Russian-controlled city.

⇒ A Russian missile attack killed at least two people and injured eight others in the city of Odessa, in southwestern Ukraine. The attack also damaged residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

⇒ “I think we have to give a very clear political signal that we are in favor of enlargement, [mas] We have to create the conditions, in the States that want to join the European Union and in the EU itself, so that enlargement can take place as quickly as possible”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, regarding the accession of Ukraine and other countries to the European institution.

⇒ All road border posts between Poland and Ukraine have been reopened. Polish farmers and transporters blocked stations for months to protest against the entry of food from Ukraine, which they consider to be unfair competition. Now, trucks can enter, as long as they do not transport products subject to sanctions imposed by Poland, such as cereals.