NATO defence ministers arrive for Ukraine talks

NATO defence ministers met on Wednesday as the alliance's member countries face the twin challenges of struggling to make and supply weapons to Ukraine while protecting vital European infrastructure such as pipelines or cables, which Russia might want to sabotage in retaliation.

In the almost eight months since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine, the 30-nation military alliance has been treading a fine line as an organization, providing only non-lethal support and defending its own territory to avoid being dragged into a wider war with a nuclear-armed Russia.

Individual allies though continue to pour in weapons and ammunition, including armored vehicles and air defense or anti-tank systems.

They're also training Ukrainian troops, building on the lessons NATO has taught Ukraine's military instructors since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.But as the Russian missile strikes across Ukraine this week demonstrated, this is not enough.

NATO defence ministers were taking stock Wednesday of the supply effort so far and to debate ways to encourage the defence industry to ramp up production in short order.

At the same time, national military stocks and arsenals are being depleted. Some countries are growing reluctant to provide Ukraine with more when they are no longer entirely sure that they can protect their own territories and airspace.

The issue, as one senior diplomat put it, is: "how do we arm Ukraine without disarming ourselves?" The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions involve collective security concerns.

Ahead of the meeting in Brussels, Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand announced "an additional approximately $50 million worth of military aid for Ukraine".

Also present at the meeting was the Finnish defence chief, Antti Kaikkonen, as his country seeks to become a full member of NATO, along with Sweden.