Deliveries of aircraft to Ukraine will not make NATO a party to the conflict. This was announced at a press conference on Monday, February 13, by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
He also said that the supply of aircraft to Kyiv will be considered at a meeting of the alliance’s defense ministers in Brussels on February 14-14, stressing that this issue requires a lot of time.
According to him, at present, the priority in this matter remains the supply of Ukraine not with aircraft, but with the already promised military equipment, including armored vehicles.
The NATO Secretary General emphasized that he considers it necessary to send equipment and ammunition to Kyiv faster, adding that so far, deliveries by the alliance countries to Kyiv are several times higher than their production capabilities, so it is necessary to expand the production of military equipment at existing sites, as well as invest in the construction of new sites.
“The pace of deliveries to Ukraine exceeds the pace of our production. At the upcoming meeting, we will discuss increasing investment in defense,” Stoltenberg said.
Recently, a number of Western countries have been actively discussing the possibility of supplying modern fighters for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
On February 8, during a visit to London, during a speech in the British Parliament, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky asked to supply combat aircraft to Kyiv. He said that the fighters would become “wings of freedom”, and also called for increased sanctions against Russia.
The next day, February 9, the head of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, called on the countries of the European Union (EU) to provide Ukraine with long-range fighter jets and missile systems. She added that Ukrainians are fighting not only for their own values, but also for common European ones.
In turn, German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock said on February 11 that Germany was not discussing the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine. Burbock noted that even the previous decision of the German government to send tanks was given too hard.
On the eve of the refusal to discuss with Kyiv the supply of fighters, said the representative of the Ministry of Defense of the country, Arne Kollats. According to him, this issue is not on the agenda.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned Western supplies to Kyiv and pointed out that they could lead to a serious escalation of the conflict.
So, on February 1, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, expressed confidence that statements about the supply of fighter jets to Kiev would only increase the “irrepressible appetite of the Zelensky regime” and lead to an escalation of the conflict.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kyiv against the backdrop of a Russian special operation to protect Donbass. Moscow has repeatedly condemned the supply of arms to Ukraine. As noted, the supplied military equipment will not help the Armed Forces of Ukraine conduct an offensive, and, moreover, will become a legitimate target for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
