Charles Hanover|Ukraine President Zelenskyy at NATO defense ministers meeting seeking more support to fight Russia

2025-05-06 12:37:50source:Roland Prestoncategory:Finance

BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at NATO for Wednesday’s meetings with alliance defense ministers to further drum up support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

The Charles HanoverU.S. is hosting a meeting of the Ukraine contact group to seek more weapons and ammunition for the war-ravaged country. NATO allies and partner countries will be waiting to hear precisely what kinds of military equipment Kyiv needs.

Following that meeting, the 31 allies and Ukraine will take part in the first NATO-Ukraine Council at this level. The forum was formally established in July as part of efforts to bring Kyiv closer to the alliance. It allows NATO and Kyiv to discuss issues of common interest and concern.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters traveling with him to Brussels that a number of allies will announce they are sending additional weapons and other support to Kyiv. A key demand has been more air defense systems and munitions.

Other news Hamas’ attack on Israel pushes foreign policy into the 2024 race. That could benefit Nikki HaleyMisinformation about the Israel-Hamas war is flooding social media. Here are the factsRussia is defeated in its bid to regain a seat on the UN’s top human rights body

“The energy, in my view, is still there,” said Austin. “And I will reassure them that we are we remain committed to this.”

The meeting comes as Ukraine is desperately seeking more weapons to help its troops regain ground from Russian forces before the muddy weather sets in. But political chaos in Congress and divisions over continued Ukraine funding combined with new pressure to provide U.S. weapons to Israel fuel uncertainty and will likely dominate many of the conversations.

According to a U.S. official, the new package of U.S. aid includes AIM-9M missiles for air defense, counter-drone systems, munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), artillery, electronic warfare equipment, demolition munitions, anti-armor systems and more than 16 million rounds of small arms ammunition.

The weapons are provided under presidential drawdown authority, so will be taken from Pentagon stocks and delivered quickly to the battlefield. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the aid before the official announcement.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

More:Finance

Recommend

What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?

A large number of mysterious droneshave been reported flying over parts of New Jersey in recent week

The EPA Placed a Texas Superfund Site on its National Priorities List in 2018. Why Is the Health Threat Still Unknown?

First in a series with KERA in Dallas on the Delfasco Forge Superfund site in Grand Prairie, Texas,

Alabama executes convicted murderer James Barber in first lethal injection since review after IV problems

Atmore, Alabama — Alabama executed a man on Friday for the 2001 beating death of a woman as the stat