NATO to help Ukraine develop weapons procurement system
NATO will help Ukraine develop an arms procurement system that is "effective, transparent and accountable", Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance's secretary general, said. Meanwhile, Putin announced Russia's temporary withdrawal from New START, the last major nuclear disarmament treaty with the United States.
"We have to give Ukraine what it needs to win," Stoltenberg said alongside Ukrainian Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. NATO will meet with procurement experts from the European Union and Ukraine.
As Russia launches new attacks, NATO is also "increasingly concerned that China is planning to provide lethal support to Russia's war," Stoltenberg said. According to him, Moscow is also looking at North Korea and Iran.
Defence conference
Ukrainian Foreign minister Kuleba called on NATO to organise a conference with the defence industry as soon as possible to speed up the delivery of weapons and ammunition. Representatives of Ukrainian industry should also be invited to such a forum, he said.
"The more coordinated we become, the faster the Ukrainian army will push the Russian army out of Ukrainian territory, and the faster peace will be restored in the Euro-Atlantic region," Koeleba said after consultations with Stoltenberg and Borrell.
New START
Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a state of the nation address in Moscow. He announced that Russia is suspending its participation in New START, the last major nuclear disarmament treaty with the United States. He also said that Russia should be prepared to test nuclear weapons if the US does so first.
New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between Russia and the US. It had been extended for five years in 2021. Initially signed in 2010, it limits both countries to 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads, a lower number than in the original START 1 treaty of 2002.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (L), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (C) and European Commission's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell pose following a news conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on February 21, 2023.
© Valeria Mongelli / AFP