Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called for more support from NATO allies ahead of the upcoming winter.
Zelensky made the call during his visit to the defence alliances’ headquarters.
He wanted to discuss his country’s priorities in Brussels, as Ukraine needed more weapons, like long-range missiles, positioned in very concrete geographic points on the land to make it through the winter.
This was needed to protect the country’s energy infrastructure, civilian lives and food exports, Zelensky said, speaking alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
“What we are seeing now is that President Putin is preparing once again to use winter as a weapon of war, meaning attacking the energy system, the gas infrastructure.
“We need to prevent that,’’ said Stoltenberg.
Zelensky met with Stoltenberg and his expected to meet with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo later in the day.
The ministers’ talks will be preceded by a meeting of the U.S.-led Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which brings together around 50 countries from around the world interested in supporting Kiev in its fight against Russia.
Referring to the ongoing outbreak of violence in the Middle East, Zelensky recommended that Western leaders visit Israel to support people who have been under terroristic attacks, people are dying.
Being at war means Ukrainians understand what such attacks intended, he said.
It will be very important not to leave the affected people alone, as those who are not alone are stronger, Zelensky added.
Developments in the region could overshadow the two-day meeting of NATO defence ministers, after a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel.
The attack followed by retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza left at least 1, 200 dead in Israel and 900 in Gaza.
The escalation between Hamas and Israel, coupled with domestic political uncertainty in Washington, has also raised concerns about the future of vital U.S. military aid to Kiev.
Soltenberg said that, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant would brief his NATO counterparts on the situation in his country on Thursday.
NATO ministers are also to address the consequences of Moscow’s war for the Western defence alliance, like re-enforcing its defence capacities in NATO countries close to Russia or its ally Belarus.
The defense chiefs are expected to discuss the alliance’s involvement in Kosovo, where NATO recently increased the presence of troops due to mounting tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as in Iraq.
Recent damage to a gas pipeline and a communications cable in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Estonia is also expected to keep ministers busy.
The gathering would also be a reminder of a simmering conflict within the alliance.
Turkey and Hungary are blocking Sweden from joining the alliance in spite of repeated promises.
