NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stresses that Ukraine is closer to the Alliance than ever, while Russia announces higher defense spending by 2024.
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Busy day for Ukrainian leaders, with allies flocking to kyiv. The French Minister of Defense has been in kyiv accompanied by French manufacturers of military equipment. Also the British defense minister underlining the firmness of his support for Zelensky. Who said he felt like a member of NATO. And in another surprise visit the Secretary General of the Alliance has praised Ukraine’s struggle.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed: “Every meter that Ukrainian forces regain is a meter that Russia loses. And there is a stark contrast, Ukrainians are fighting for their families, their future, their freedom. Moscow fights for its imperial delusions. Ukraine is now closer to NATO than ever.”
Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, said: “Today it is already a de facto conversation between allies and a matter of time before Ukraine becomes a full member of the Alliance. We are doing everything possible to make that moment come.”
An international forum dedicated to the defense industry is being held this Friday in kyiv. On the other hand, Russia has announced a huge increase in its military budget of 68% in 2024, reaching the equivalent of 106 billion euros. Next year, military spending will thus represent close to 30% of total federal spending and 6% of GDP, a figure unprecedented in post-Soviet Russia.
