NATO summit: UK PM urges allies to step up military aid to Ukraine amid Russian invasion

During NATO leaders summit in Brussels amid Russia-Ukraine war, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday urged the allies and partners to ramp up military and humanitarian aid to Kyiv. As Russian shelling continues for the fifth week, the British PM stressed that UK and allies should help Ukraine to bolster their defences and “turn the tide in this fight”.

Johnson’s post came as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders summit took place on Wednesday in Brussels as the Russia-Ukraine war neared a month. The leaders of the alliance, who were also addressed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy virtually, discussed overhauling NATO’s eastern troops. 

At the summit, Johnson called on NATO members to act ‘harder’ against Russia to end the war ‘faster’. He also announced fresh sanctions against the Wagner Group among several other individuals. Noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has badly miscalculated in Ukraine”, Johnson made it clear that the UK and its allies in NATO and G7 “will not stand while Putin vents his fury on Ukraine”. 

UK PM said, “Vladimir Putin has badly miscalculated in Ukraine, and I believe he knows it. But now that Putin’s Plan A has foundered, he is already escalating by intensifying his attacks on civilians.”

“The United Kingdom – and our allies in NATO and the G7 here today – are clear: we will not stand by while Putin vents his fury on Ukraine,” he also said.

NATO established four new battle groups

Earlier, NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the group would deploy four new battle groups across Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia as part of its response to the Russian unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Stoltenberg told the journalists, “I expect leaders will agree to strengthen NATO's posture in all domains with major increases of forces in the eastern part of the alliance, on land, in the air, and at sea. The first step is the deployment of four new NATO battle groups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia”. 

“This means that we will have eight multinational NATO battle groups all along the Eastern flank from the Baltic to the Black Sea,” he had said.

Image: AP