NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday that the alliance is speeding up the production of weapons and improving air defenses as part of a new U.S.-led program that has committed $2.2 billion to Ukraine, according to Anadolu Agency. This is being done while drone activity is on the rise and airspace protection is being tightened.
Before a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Rutte told reporters that countries are increasing defense production “to make sure that Ukraine is as strong as possible.” He stated that ministers were going to look at recent drone incidents along NATO’s borders and how to improve air defenses.
The U.S.-led operation, which started in August, sends money to both deadly and non-deadly technology, like as air-defense systems and interceptors, to keep civilians and infrastructure safe from Russian attacks. Rutte added that NATO and the EU are working together closely and not doing the same things twice.
Rutte added that NATO is still fully competent to protect its territory in alliance airspace. He stated that the alliance would engage planes that represent a threat and escort others out. He also claimed that the alliance is still adapting its counter-drone capabilities based on what it has learned from the battlefield in Ukraine.
Rutte said that support for Kyiv is not decreasing, and that aid levels remain the same as they were last year. He also said that U.S. leadership helped partners share the burden more fairly.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal went to a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting. After that, there was a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group led by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey. Rutte stated that participating allies were expected to make more announcements under the $2.2 billion scheme.
Speaking alongside with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Rutte thanked President Donald Trump and his team for challenging allies to increase defense spending. Hegseth said recent pledges would lead to concrete capabilities and described joint procurement efforts in Europe as “peace through strength.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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