Billions of dollars and a shield over Ukraine. The West is mobilizing against Putin

British Defense Secretary John Healey announced on Thursday that his country and allies had pledged $35 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

On Thursday, a meeting of defense ministers of the Alliance countries was held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

As Healey reported, the commitment of EUR 35 billion was made at a meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, which consists of 50 countries and is co-chaired by Great Britain and Germany.

“We can save lives, we can put pressure on Putin and we can achieve peace, but only if we act together,” the British minister said at a press conference after the meeting.

NATO's Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, also known colloquially as the Ramstein Group, is an international forum for cooperation between countries in coordinating military support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, in turn, announced that his country will provide Ukraine with five additional Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile defense systems if other allied countries provide Kiev with a total of 30 such systems.

– We all know that it's about saving human lives. It's a matter of days, not weeks or months, Pistorius said after the meeting in Brussels.

He noted that decisions on this matter have not yet been made in other countries, but emphasized that he was “very optimistic” about the possibility of achieving the 30+5 goal.

NATO Chief Mark Rutte said that the Alliance's countries announced support amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars as part of the PURL initiative. Its goal is to provide Ukraine with American weapons purchased by European countries.

The NATO secretary general thanked Britain, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Lithuania for their contributions and said he expected more declarations soon, without naming specific countries.

Appearing at a joint press conference with the defense ministers of Great Britain, Germany and Ukraine, Rutte did not provide a specific amount of support.

From Brussels Łukasz Osiński (PAP)

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