NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that the alliance was sending sections of its combat-ready reaction force and will continue to supply weaponry, including air defences, to Ukraine, while accusing Russia of attempting to destabilize the Ukrainian government.
“We see rhetoric, the messages, which is strongly indicating that the aim is to remove the democratically elected government in Kyiv,” he said at a press conference after a virtual summit of NATO leaders.
He stated that some of NATO’s 30 countries have announced the types of weaponry they will equip Ukraine with, notably air defences, but he did not elaborate. “Allies are very committed to continuing to provide support,” he added. NATO, according to Stoltenberg, is sending parts of its quick reaction force, which consists of land, air, marine, and special operations troops, on allied territory.
Separately, Germany confirmed the deployment of a battalion of troops to Slovakia, where the soldiers would be part of a new NATO battlegroup that will be built. “We are working on quickly sending a company to Slovakia,” German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said after meetings with her Slovak colleague on German public television ZDF.
A company is typically made up of 150-200 soldiers. Germany will also deploy a Patriot missile defence – battery, along with 300 personnel to manage it, to NATO’s eastern frontier. The system’s path was not immediately evident.