Metropolis Desk-
The day after Russia accused Ukraine’s Western allies of aiding in the planning and execution of last week’s missile attack on the Black Sea Fleet’s command center on the annexed Crimean Peninsula, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg met with President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the state of the war and the need for troops on Thursday.
In order to protect Ukraine’s power plants and energy infrastructure, which were severely damaged by persistent and fatal Russian attacks last winter, Zelensky reported that Stoltenberg had decided to work to persuade NATO nations to help install more air defense systems. He also brought up the ongoing attacks on civilian targets, including 40 drone strikes in one night, to the secretary-general’s attention.
“We need a corresponding intensity of pressure on Russia and a strengthening of our air defense in the face of such intense attacks against Ukrainians, against our cities, and against our ports, which are crucial for ensuring the global food supply,” Zelensky added. In order for our common principles to ultimately triumph, the rest of the world needs to realize how badly Russia is losing.
According to Stoltenberg, NATO has contracts for 155 mm Howitzer rounds, anti-tank guided missiles, and tank ammunition worth 2.4 billion euros ($2.5 billion).
The more powerful Ukraine gets, the closer we are to putting an end to Russian aggression, stated Stoltenberg. “Russia might put down its weapons and put an end to its war today. That’s not a choice available to Ukraine. Peace would not result from Ukraine’s submission. Russian occupation would be terrible. Any payment for peace would be no peace at all.
The operation on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Crimea was planned with assistance from US and UK security agencies, according to Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, and NATO satellites and surveillance aircraft also played a part.
Ukraine claimed that the incident left 105 people injured in addition to the 34 officers who were murdered. Adm. Viktor Sokolov, who was shown on Russian official television on Wednesday speaking with reporters in the Black Sea city of Sevastopol, was also said to have been assassinated, according to the group.
Unverified news reports claimed that the attack on the Russian navy installation used Storm Shadow missiles that the UK and France had sent to Ukraine. The UK Ministry of Defense remained silent in response to Zakharova’s comments, as it has in the past when asked about intelligence-related topics.
The meeting with Stoltenberg took place on the same day that Sebastien Lecornu, the French defense minister, visited the memorial wall in Kyiv dedicated to fallen soldiers, and the day after UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps met with Zelensky to reaffirm the UK’s support for Ukraine and make a commitment to provide more ammunition as Kyiv’s counteroffensive plods toward the time of year when chilly and rainy weather may slow progress.
Shapps, who for a year housed a Ukrainian family in his home, expressed his personal resentment at what the nation had to go through.
In a video that Zelensky posted, Shapps remarked, “Our support for you, for Ukraine, remains absolutely undented.” We are standing side by side with you. We understand how painful this has been for you, and we want to see a conclusion that will satisfy your needs.
Zelensky has advocated for Ukraine to join NATO, but at this year’s gathering in Lithuania, members of the trans-Atlantic military alliance vowed to increase their support for Ukraine without really inviting it to do so.
At the conference, NATO leaders declared that they would welcome Ukraine into the alliance “when allies agree and conditions are met.” In order for Ukraine to enlist more rapidly when the war with Russia is done, they also resolved to remove barriers in its way.
As per Zelensky’s remarks on Thursday, Ukraine is developing a plan that will specify the steps it must take to comply with NATO’s values and criteria.
Furthermore, it is crucial that the allies concurred that Ukraine did not require an action plan in order to join NATO, according to Zelensky.
