NATO chief says members not providing Ukraine with enough ammunition

By Nur Asena Erturk

NATO members are not providing Ukraine with enough ammunition, the chief of the military alliance said Thursday.

Jens Stoltenberg presented NATO's annual report for 2023 at a news conference in Brussels, and commented on the situation in Ukraine, where Russia launched a "special military operation" two years ago.

He said the Ukrainians are not running out of "courage" but "ammunition."

"NATO allies are not providing Ukraine with enough ammunition and that has consequences on the battlefield every day. The fact that the Russians are able to outgun the Ukrainians every day, of course, is a huge challenge, it is one of the reasons why the Russians have been able to make some advances on the battlefield over the last weeks and months," Stoltenberg explained.

He urged the allies "to step up and provide more ammunition to Ukraine."

"Both the US, Canada, and Europe has to do more," Stoltenberg said, stressing that NATO members have the "economies to be able to provide Ukraine with what they need."

"This is a question of political will to take the decisions and to prioritize support for Ukraine. And therefore we need the decisions to invest more in defense industry," he added.

Stoltenberg said it would be a "great historic mistake" to allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to prevail.

"We cannot allow authoritarian leaders to get the way by using force. This would be dangerous for us all," he said.

- Finland under Russian threat

Stoltenberg said Finland joined NATO in 2023 and became "safer than before."

He noted that almost all Russian land forces were engaged against Ukraine.

"So, we don't see any imminent threat against any NATO ally," he said, vowing to monitor the situation and protect the allies.

- Elections in Russia

Stoltenberg also answered a question about the internal situation in Russia, ahead of the March 15-17 presidential election, saying there was no democracy in the country and opposition was stifled.

"President Putin has held power in Russia for decades. And no one expects Russia's elections this week to bring any change in the Kremlin. And of course, Russia's attempts to organize any part of an election in occupied regions of Ukraine are completely illegal, violating international law," he said.