NATO defense ministers collect munitions for Ukraine
04:30 | The defense ministers of NATO countries meet again in Brussels. They are scouring their dwindling arsenals and demanding ammunition from the defense industry for Ukraine, which is therefore desperate now that Russia has begun a spring offensive.
That feared new attack has already begun, says NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, almost exactly one year after the Russian invasion of the country. He sees a real munitions race between Russia and the West, which he believes could determine the course of the war. Minister Kajsa Ollongren and his 29 colleagues from the Western military alliance will discuss, among other things, the increase in target stockpiles. In this way they give the arms industry the certainty that it can invest with confidence in increasing production.
First, other allies of Ukraine will also join the party on Tuesday. The fifty or so countries of the so-called Ramstein group then discuss supplying more weapons to Ukraine, and then the word warplanes will also be mentioned. Ukraine would like to, but the United States and Germany, among others, see too many objections for the moment.
Next, NATO ministers talk about increasing their defense spending. The old deal to spend 2 percent of the defense budget should be increased these days, many NATO countries believe, even though many member states have never met the current standard. A decision on this should come in the summer.