NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated after a special meeting between the military alliance's defense ministers and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that alliance members agreed on Friday to provide Kyiv with additional air defense systems. He told reporters in Brussels, "In addition to the Patriot missile defense system, there are other systems that allies can provide (to Ukraine), including the French SAMP/T system... Countries that do not have available systems have pledged to provide financial support for the purchase of these systems for Ukraine."
Zelensky requested the online meeting due to his country's facing a shortage of ammunition amid the withholding of significant funding from U.S. Republicans in Congress for months and the failure of the European Union to deliver munitions in a timely manner. Stoltenberg did not go into details about the number of new air defense systems Ukraine would receive, but he said he expected new details to be announced in the coming days. He confirmed that "support is on the way, and I expect announcements of more assistance and support in the very near future."
