Poland’s Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak on Thursday joined his NATO counterparts and officials from dozens of countries for a gathering in Brussels to discuss further Western support for Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels on Thursday, June 15, 2023.Photo: EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS
The meeting of the so-called Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the 13th such get-together since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, was being attended by officials from around 50 countries, news outlets reported.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said during the meeting that the Ukraine Defense Contact Group „has come together once again to stand united in Ukraine’s fight for sovereignty and freedom.”
„We are united in our commitment to provide Ukraine with the training and the equipment to help it succeed on the battlefield,” Austin said.
„The nearly 50 countries participating in today’s Ukraine Defense Contact Group stand united with you and Ukraine’s brave defenders,” he told his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov on Thursday.
After the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, NATO defence ministers were expected to convene among themselves to discuss Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and a package of agreements expected to be approved by the alliance’s Vilnius summit next month, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
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Source: IAR, PAP