Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksi Reznikov on Tuesday called on Spain to make «practical decisions» on sending battle tanks and their components and ammunition, insisting that the idea is to form tank battalions provided by Western countries.
Speaking to Europa Press before participating in the meeting of the Ramstein group that is meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Reznikov insisted that the meeting should result in announcements on components, repair and maintenance, apart from the tanks themselves.
Asked about the role of Spain, the Ukrainian minister said that he expects «practical decisions», although he stressed that military aid does not come only from one country, but that Ukraine seeks to «form battalions» with the contributions of the allies, which «can have Spanish, Portuguese or Canadian tanks».
The military coalition of more than 40 countries supporting Ukraine under the leadership of the United States is meeting at NATO headquarters to finalize the supply of battle tanks from Kiev. Before the meeting, the allies will also discuss how to reinforce anti-aircraft assistance to the Ukrainian army, but any announcement on the fighter jets demanded by the president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is ruled out. In this regard, Rezkinov explained that he is seeking to convince the allies to take the step, although he said that a collective approach is needed to provide aircraft.
«It can’t be that only one country can provide fighters, because we also need maintenance and components,» he said, pointing to the example of the coalition formed for battle tanks that also includes logistical issues.
On the shortage of ammunition, Rezkinov explained that Ukraine is fighting a «war of stocks» and urged to make decisions in this regard. «When you have a war, you don’t have enough ammunition because the ammunition you have you use,» he said, stressing the logistical aspects of the conflict.
In this regard, upon his arrival at the meeting German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has announced that Germany will «immediately» resume production of anti-aircraft ammunition that will allow fast and independent deliveries to Kiev. These orders are in the name of Ukraine, which will facilitate the processing of deliveries, as it will not require parliamentary authorization.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
