Head of Ukraine’s mission to NATO, Ambassador Natalia Galibarenko states the extraordinary meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council held at NATO will make it possible to translate the proposals and announcements voiced by the allies into the practical plane of further concrete support for Ukraine in its opposition to Russian aggression
So on Wednesday in Brussels, she commented to journalists on the results of an extraordinary meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council, which was convened at the initiative of Kyiv in connection with unprecedented shelling by Russia during the New Year holidays of Ukraine.
Pointing out that the Council, created by the decision of the Vilnius NATO summit in July 2023, is a mechanism for consultations in crisis situations, the head of the mission said: “The context of this meeting is very important, since the EU summit will be held on February 1, and a meeting of the defense ministers of NATO member countries will be held in the middle of February, on the margins of which a meeting of the Contact Group to Support Ukraine, the so-called Ramstein, always takes place. In this context, this meeting is very important so that we come to these meetings not with proposals, announcements and promises, but to implement the proposals that were voiced today. We see our task in the fact that we must use all available means to keep Ukraine on the radar and not allow sentiments about some kind of fatigue in the West to suggest that the war in Ukraine is fading into the background. In this regard, holding such a meeting is important and helps keep our allies on their toes.”
According to her, during the meeting, all NATO member countries, without exception, confirmed that they would continue to support Ukraine, that “there is no fatigue.” “Everyone understands that this war will last for a long time. Therefore, there is an understanding that assistance must continue without interruption,” Galibarenko conveyed the essence of the allies’ position.
In addition, she continued, the allies noted the effectiveness of air defense. “In terms of the level of shooting down suicide bombers and cruise missiles, we are talking about more than 80% efficiency. The allies also welcomed offensive actions to oust the Russian fleet from Crimea. There was a signal that such success is a very correct strategy from the point of view that the best defense is an attack,” the mission’s head said.
According to Galibarenko, some allies announced new military assistance packages and increased contributions to the NATO Comprehensive Assistance Package. “This is a tool that, during two years of war, allows us to satisfy our primary needs – to buy anti-drones, fuels and lubricants, and medicines. In the future, this will be an instrument within which projects will be carried out on humanitarian demining and restoration of the infrastructure of military facilities on the territory of Ukraine. One of such projects is the construction, jointly with NATO, of an integrated air defense system in Ukraine,” she said.
During the meeting, some allies pointed to new challenges in connection with confirmation of the DPRK’s supply of ballistic missiles to Russia and their use in attacks against Ukraine. “Proposals were voiced that NATO and allies should play a role in terms of sanctions and pressure to prevent the continued supply of missiles,” the mission’s head noted the position of the alliance. The parties also discussed the state of the F16 coalition.
Galibarenko said that from the Ukrainian side, the meeting was attended by Commander of the Air Force of Ukraine Mykola Oleschuk and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Oleksiy Serheyev. “Oleschuk briefed the allies on the shelling, saying that this was an unprecedented combined attack of suicide bombers and cruise ballistic missiles on Ukraine, including the capital. He voiced the risks and threats that we expect in the coming winter months, noting our main needs: we need not only additional air defense systems, but most importantly, we need missiles to complement existing anti-aircraft missile systems. Serheyev spoke about the consequences of the attacks and voiced the needs of services such as the border service and the National Guard, so that they could effectively cope with the consequences of Russian attacks on the territory of Ukraine,” the head of the Ukrainian mission to NATO said.