Ukraine shedding blood to carry out NATO mission: Ukraine Def Minister
The Ukrainian Defense Minister says his NATO colleagues have told him that Ukraine is defending the entire West.
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Ukraine's Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov at a NATO meeting in Brussels on October 12, 2022 (Reuters)
Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov said on Thursday that Ukraine is shedding blood to carry out the mission that the NATO alliance set for itself and expects the West to provide weapons and ammunition in return.
In an interview for a Ukrainian TV channel, Reznikov said that during the Madrid summit last summer, NATO considered Russia the greatest threat to the US-led military alliance.
"Today, Ukraine is addressing that threat. We’re carrying out NATO’s mission today, without shedding their blood. We shed our blood, so we expect them to provide weapons," the Ukrainian Minister indicated.
The top diplomat pointed out that his NATO colleagues have told him that Ukraine is the "shield of civilization" and is "defending the entire civilized world, the entire West."
In October, Reznikov told Politico that his goal was to keep raising the bar until Ukraine receives main battle tanks from the West.
This comes after White House Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre announced on Friday a new $3 billion package in military aid to Ukraine, the first since the year 2023 started.
Jean-Pierre said that $682 million of the package will be allocated to assist European partners to reinforce NATO's presence in the eastern flank and $225 million to revamp Ukraine's military and build its long-term capacity.
The Pentagon revealed that the latest military assistance package for Ukraine worth $3.75 billion includes 50 Bradley fighting vehicles, 500 TOW anti-tank missiles, and 250,000 rounds of 22mm ammunition.
In the same context, French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on January 4 during a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to send French-made AMX-10 RC armored fighting vehicles to Ukraine.
It is noteworthy that Kiev’s top general Valery Zaluzhny told The Economist that Ukraine would need 300 more tanks, up to 700 infantry fighting vehicles, and 500 howitzers to conduct offensive operations against Russia.
A recent report published in the New York Times said the latest round of military assistance to Ukraine from the US, France, and Germany indicates clearly that the West in no way wants to encourage peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and is rather pushing for more offensives to be unleashed against Moscow amid the latest delivery of armored vehicles to Kiev.
Read more: US doesn't want peace in Ukraine as it sends Bradley fighting vehicles
