NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that NATO allies and partners have handed Ukraine 1,550 armoured vehicles and 230 tanks to help it create units and reclaim territory from Russian forces.

According to Stoltenberg, the supplies since the beginning of the war in February last year, constitute more than 98 per cent of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine.

He further said, “We have trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian armoured brigades in total. This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory”.

NATO members have also sent anti-aircraft systems and artillery while Poland and the Czech Republic have given Soviet-built MiG-29 fighter planes.

Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been trained on NATO weapons.

Stoltenberg praised the unprecedented military assistance to Ukraine but warned that “we should never underestimate Russia”.

Stoltenberg said, “Moscow was mobilising more ground forces and was willing to send in thousands of troops with very high casualty rates”.

The alliance chief said, “In the midst of what threatens to be a prolonged battle, NATO allies must stay the course and continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to prevail”.

Stoltenberg further said that a NATO summit in Lithuania in July would lay out preparation for a multi-year programme of support for Ukraine.

The alliance chief also praised a phone conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, their first since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Beijing claims to be impartial in the Ukraine conflict and Xi has never opposed the Russian invasion.

Western nations have intensified pressure on China’s leader, who paid a cordial visit to Moscow last month, to intervene and mediate.

Stoltenberg remarked, “Maybe this war will end at the negotiating table”.

However, he emphasised that it is for Ukraine to decide what are the conditions for talks and what format any talks should take.

“In any case, any possibility for meaningful negotiations requires that Ukraine have the necessary military strength to send a very clear message to President (Vladimir) Putin that he will not win on the battlefield”, Stoltenberg continued.

Last week, NATO countries gathered in Ramstein in Germany for discussions hosted by the United States to review the defence systems and supplies Ukraine says it needs.

Zelensky has encouraged Western allies to send sophisticated fighter planes and long-range missiles to assist in repelling Russian troops, but NATO members have so far refrained from sending Western-made planes.

The Kremlin has attempted to depict NATO members’ involvement in bolstering Ukraine’s defences as the alliance being directly involved in the crisis, something the alliance disputes.

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