This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/11/world/europe/zelensky-visits-nato-surprise.html

The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Zelensky Visits NATO as Alliance Considers More Aid to Ukraine Zelensky Visits NATO as Alliance Considers More Aid to Ukraine
(about 7 hours later)
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made a surprise visit to NATO headquarters on Wednesday, as top defense officials representing members of the military alliance gathered to consider how many more weapons — and for how much longer — the West can give Ukraine in its war against Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made a surprise visit to NATO headquarters on Wednesday, urging the military alliance to maintain its flow of weapons to his country for its war against Russia, even as much of the West turns its attention to the brutal outbreak of violence in Israel.
Mr. Zelensky’s appearance at the meeting was a stark reminder of the 19-month-old conflict on NATO’s doorstep even as much of the West has turned its attention to the war between Israel and Hamas assailants in Gaza. That war broke out this past weekend and, if it drags out, threatens to divert resources from Ukraine. Top NATO officials sought to reassure Mr. Zelensky, pledging more than $1 billion in additional military aid that will be delivered before Ukraine’s winter sets in.
But that is not expected to happen in the near future, officials and experts said, since Israel and Ukraine are using different kinds of air defenses to protect their respective territories. And two of NATO’s largest members, Britain and Germany, announced large packages of additional military assistance to Ukraine hours before the two days of meetings began on Wednesday. “Your fight is our fight, your security is our security, and your values are our values,” Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, said at the start of two days of meetings among the alliance’s defense chiefs. “And we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Nevertheless, Mr. Zelensky has spent the days since the attack on Israel imploring Western allies to continue to provide Ukraine with aid and weapons, comparing the assault by Hamas to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He also accused Russia of seeking to foment chaos and conflict in the Middle East to undermine support for Kyiv. But Mr. Zelensky later said that “of course, everybody’s afraid” that Western assistance would dwindle as the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza continues.
On Wednesday he again emphasized how valuable it was to have the support of allies. “Who knows how it will be,” Mr. Zelensky said at an appearance with Belgium’s prime minister after meeting with top defense officials from NATO members. “I think nobody knows.”
“I remember the first days of our full-scale war — it began from terroristic attacks,” he told journalists shortly after arriving at NATO headquarters, standing next to the alliance’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg. “It was very important to not be alone.” Mr. Zelensky’s visit to the military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels was a stark reminder of the 19-month-old conflict on NATO’s doorstep, amid concerns that the war in Israel, which broke out this past weekend, could eventually divert resources from Ukraine.
“So my recommendation to the leaders is to go to Israel and add their support,” Mr. Zelensky said. An initial package of weapons shipped directly from the United States arrived in Israel on Wednesday morning, according to video posted on X by the Israeli defense ministry.
He did not directly address whether the assault on Israel would divert weapons that he is demanding for Ukraine — such as air defenses, long-range missiles and artillery that he said would help his country “survive this next winter.” Mr. Zelensky said that he was counting on Ukraine’s strong relations with the United States and the European Union to ensure that it would continue. Still, he urged nations to rally behind the Israeli people, and compared the assault by Hamas to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The United States alone has given Ukraine billions in military aid, and Germany announced an estimated $1 billion in weapons on Tuesday night, largely in air defense systems, including Patriot missiles. Senior NATO officials privately conceded that Ukraine might have cause for concern, given the violence in Israel and the budget fight in the United States Congress that threatens American war funding. At least some of the American weapons flow could dry up in a matter of months if the money is not approved quickly, according to one senior U.S. official who spoke to journalists in Brussels on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal debate more frankly.
Britain also pledged about $122 million in new aid, including mine-clearing trucks that Ukraine hopes will help it push through Russian defenses on the front line. Britain also said it would send an additional $86 million in air defense systems under a contract for the MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin that was previously announced. But the U.S. official and other experts also said that a diversion of weapons to Israel at Ukraine’s expense is not expected to happen in the near future, since the two countries use different kinds of air defenses to protect their respective territories.
NATO officials will hear on Thursday from Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, in a video briefing at the close of the military alliance’s meetings this week. But Mr. Stoltenberg sought to make clear Wednesday morning that Ukraine remained foremost on NATO’s minds. And three of NATO’s largest members — Britain, Germany and the United States — announced that they would speed air defenses and military assistance to Ukraine as the two days of meetings began among the alliance’s defense ministers.
“Your fight is our fight. Your security is our security, and your values are our values,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “And we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.” At NATO, Mr. Zelensky said he was counting on the West to supply more air defenses, long-range missiles and artillery to help his country “survive this next winter.”
He also repeated his assertion that Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, seeks to foment chaos and conflict in the Middle East to undermine support for Kyiv, noting that Moscow still has enough weapons, personnel and other resources “to incite conflicts and turn that into full scale tragedies.”
“This is happening in the Sahel,” he said, referring to a region in sub-Saharan Africa, “and it can happen even more painfully in Israel and in the Middle East as a whole. We must not allow this to happen. We can prevent it.”
Mr. Putin, for his part, assailed the United States for a second consecutive day, saying it was inflaming another international crisis with the Israeli-Hamas war. Speaking at an energy conference on Wednesday, Mr. Putin accused Washington of acting recklessly in the Middle East by sidestepping international efforts to mediate between the sides and said it had failed to address fundamental Palestinian grievances.
The United States has committed about $44 billion in weapons and military support to Ukraine since February 2022, and on Wednesday announced that it would ship more air defense missiles, artillery, rockets and counter-drone equipment in a new package worth about $200 million. This week it delivered the remainder of 31 M1 Abrams tanks that the Biden administration promised to give Ukraine in January, according to n American military official in Brussels.
“We should be ready for the Kremlin to again bombard Ukraine this winter with cruise missiles and drones,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin said at the start of the NATO meetings. He said Russia would likely continue to target civilians, in “hopes to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people and punch them into bitter cold and dark.”
Officials said the Biden administration would also step up its involvement in a coalition led by Norway and the Netherlands to donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, although the warplanes are not expected to be sent to the war zone until next year at the very earliest.
Other allies are also sending new packages of weapons and aid.
On Wednesday, Britain pledged about $122 million in defense equipment, including mine-clearing trucks to help push Ukraine through Russian forces on the front line and MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin air defenses that had been previously announced.
A day earlier, Germany announced an estimated $1 billion in weapons, largely air defense systems, including Patriot missiles. Romania also promised air defense systems and artillery after meeting with Mr. Zelensky this week, although it did not release any details.
NATO officials will hear on Thursday from Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, in a video briefing at the close of the military alliance’s meetings this week.
For now, the air defenses that Israel may seek from the United States include Tamir interceptors — missiles that are used in Israel’s Iron Dome system. They have not been sent to Ukraine, which has depended on a mix of air defense systems that are manufactured and used in the United States and Europe.
“There is no competition between Israel and Ukraine worth mentioning for those capabilities,” said Bradley Bowman, a former U.S. Army officer and senior military expert at the Foundation of Defense of Democracies, a Washington research institute.
Where the needs for weapons could overlap between Ukraine and Israel, Mr. Bowman said, is in munitions and other ground warfare systems, if Israel launches a lengthy building-to-building rout of Hamas in Gaza. Ukraine’s forces have burned through thousands of munitions each day in their counteroffensive against Russia — a war of attrition that has left troops on the front lines pleading for more ammunition.
“If we see a major ground war in Gaza of extended duration, the weapons Israel needs from the U.S. may begin to overlap with some of the weapons Ukraine needs,” Mr. Bowman said. “But a prospective competition between Ukraine and Israel for the same weapons could certainly be managed.”
At NATO, Mr. Zelensky again emphasized how valuable it was to have the backing of allies, and urged world leaders ”to go to Israel and add their support.”
“I remember the first days of our full-scale war — it began from terroristic attacks,” he told journalists shortly after arriving. “It was very important to not be alone.”
Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting from Tbilisi, Georgia.