Putin using ‘winter as weapon of war’
Nato allies will ramp up aid for Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin is using winter as a weapon of war because his forces are failing on the battlefield, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday.
"I think we all have seen these pictures taken from satellites where you see Europe in light and then you see Ukraine dark...so there is a huge task to rebuild all of this," Stoltenberg said.
"President Putin is trying to use winter as a weapon of war," he told reporters as Nato foreign ministers gathered in Bucharest for a two-day meeting which he said would serve as a platform to mobilise more support for Ukraine.
Nato foreign ministers will focus on increasing military assistance for Ukraine such as air defence systems and ammunition, even as diplomats acknowledge supply and capacity issues, but also discuss non-lethal aid.
Part of this non-lethal aid - goods such as fuel, medical supplies, winter equipment and drone jammers - has been delivered through a Nato assistance package that allies can contribute to and which Stoltenberg aims to increase.
Stoltenberg's comments were echoed by several ministers from the 30-member alliance, who were also be joined by Finland and Sweden, as they look to secure full membership pending Turkish and Hungarian ratifications.
"The coming months will be a big test for us all. For Ukraine it is existential, for us moral. We must continue helping Ukraine for as long as necessary," Slovak Foreign Minister Rastislav Kacer said.
Air raid sirens wailed across Ukraine yesterday for the first time this week. Ukrainians fled the streets for bomb shelters, although there were no immediate reports of major attacks away from the front.
The all-clear was later sounded in the capital Kyiv, but officials said the threat had not necessarily lifted. "Last time, the Russians also disguised the strike as a training flight... Let's see," said Vitaliy Kim, governor of southern Ukraine's Mykolaiv region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned his fellow citizens of new Russian attacks this week that could be as bad as last week's, the worst yet, which left millions of people with no heat, water or power.
Russia acknowledges attacking Ukrainian infrastructure. It denies its intent is to hurt civilians.
"It is going to be a terrible winter for Ukraine, so we are working to strengthen our support for it to be resilient," a senior European diplomat said.
Ministers will also discuss Ukraine's application for Nato membership. But they are likely to only confirm the alliance's open-door policy while Nato membership still appears far away.
Meanwhile, Moscow has sent India a list of more than 500 products for potential delivery including parts for cars, aircraft and trains, four sources familiar with the matter said, as sanctions squeeze Russia's ability to keep vital industries running.
The list, a version of which has been seen by Reuters in New Delhi, is provisional and it is unclear how many of the items will eventually be exported and in what quantity, but an Indian government source said the request was unusual in its scope.
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