At the start of the summit in Washington, NATO promised Ukraine more air defense systems. But that is probably not all. The need is not met.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has described the support provided to Ukraine with air defense systems so far as a “big step”. At the same time, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, he promised the country attacked by Russia further systems. “In my view, this process is not complete,” said Scholz before a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj.
The USA, Germany and other allies promised Ukraine five systems to defend against Russian air attacks on Tuesday at the start of the NATO summit. Ukraine had already requested seven additional systems in April, so the need has not yet been met.
Germany has already delivered three Patriot systems and is counting on other NATO countries to follow suit. “Germany has taken a big step in encouraging this, in convincing others that this is necessary,” said Scholz. One can safely say: “Without Germany having taken the lead, this step would not be taken now.”
Scholz also stressed that he considers the NATO accession perspective for Ukraine, which is to be set out in a joint declaration by the 32 member states, to be sufficient. He is certain that this will “also create the level of clarity for Ukraine that they must be able to rely on,” he said. “And that is why I believe this will be a great success and a sign of unity.” In the NATO declaration, which has not yet been adopted, the accession process for Ukraine is to be described as “irreversible.”