NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg participated with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other world leaders in the online Summit of the International Crimea Platform on Tuesday (23 August 2022). He detailed the strong support that NATO and Allies are providing Ukraine.
Mr Stoltenberg said: "Ukraine has suffered six terrible months of war, but you have also shown your incredible ability to resist brutal aggression - to strike back, retake territory and impose major costs on Russia. NATO stands in full solidarity with Ukraine. Allies fully support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, your right to self-defence and to choose your own path."
NATO Allies have provided unprecedented military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The Secretary General recalled that NATO significantly stepped up our support after the illegal annexation of Crimea, so when Russia invaded again on 24 February, "this helped make the Ukrainian armed forces stronger, better trained, and better led than in 2014." At the Madrid Summit in June, NATO leaders agreed a strengthened package of assistance including fuel, food, medical supplies protective military gear, and secure communications, as well as equipment to counter mines, drones, chemical and biological threats. Mr Stoltenberg said: "We are committed to our partnership with Ukraine for the long term. We will help Ukraine transition from Soviet-era to NATO-standard equipment, continue your defence and security sector reform, and help you on the path of post-war reconstruction." At the same time, the Secretary General said that NATO has strengthened its presence in the east of the Alliance "because NATO's security guarantees leave no room for miscalculation in Moscow and they enable Allies to support Ukraine's right to self-defence."
The Secretary General said that NATO will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes: "Winter is coming and it will be hard. And what we see now is a grinding war of attrition. This is a battle of wills and a battle of logistics. Therefore, we must sustain our support for Ukraine for the long-term, so that Ukraine prevails, as a sovereign independent nation."
