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BELFAST — All 31 NATO members are set to approve a new multiyear assistance package for Ukraine at the alliance’s Heads of State Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week.
The move is aimed at delivering greater interoperability between Ukrainian and NATO armed forces, and represents just one prong of a three-part initiative to strengthen military and political cooperation between the two sides.
The other two items cover the establishment of a Ukraine-NATO Council which will meet for the first time at the Summit, with attendance from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while allies are also set to “reaffirm” their commitment to the Eastern European country joining the alliance, according to Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General.
“I am confident that we’ll find a united way to address the specific issue on membership, but I will not go into the details of exact language now because that is something we will announce [at the Summit],” he told media today.
A variety of other agreements are also due to be signed off during the every-two-year summit, including a new long-term defense spending target that could see the current figure of two percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased. A modest move to set the two percent target as a “minimum” continues to be under consideration.
“We are making progress and close to having all the details in place for a new investment pledge,” said Stoltenberg, without sharing an exact figure.
The Summit will also see three regional defense plans formalized. Those will cover the North Atlantic and the Arctic; the Baltics and Central Europe; and the Mediterranean and Black Sea. In support of the plans NATO will put 300,000 troops on high readiness, largely based around air and naval “combat power,” added Stoltenberg.
NATO leaders are also set to approve a Defense Production Action Plan aimed at aggregating demand, boosting weapons production capacity and increasing interoperability among partner nations.
In a more dangerous world, we must invest more in defence. In 2023, we will see 8.3%, the biggest increase in our defence spending in decades across #NATO European Allies & Canada. At #NATOSummit in Vilnius we’ll agree an even stronger commitment to spend 2% of GDP in defence. pic.twitter.com/Y2avMJh5SK
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) July 7, 2023
Weapons, ammunition, new military aid announcements and donations have all contributed to Ukraine retaking land from Russia in northern, eastern and southern parts of Ukraine in recent weeks, added Stoltenberg.
“There’s a very high rate of consumption of ammunition in the counteroffensive operations [against Russia] with thousands of [artillery] shells [expended] every day,” he added. “There is an enormous need to resupply, and that’s exactly what the allies are doing. Using our mandate to set standards and guidelines, allies are now implementing and following up and production is going up.”
Stoltenberg also confirmed that non-NATO members Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea will attend the Summit to discuss cybersecurity, maritime issues and “new technologies.”
He repeated his message that Sweden must join the alliance “as soon as possible” after explaining earlier this week that “unsolved issues” between Stockholm and Turkey are preventing the Scandinavian nation’s entry to the alliance.
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