5 September 2014
The Ukrainian government has reached agreements with certain NATO member-states that will supply lethal and non-lethal military hardware, including high-precision weaponry, said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko at a Sept. 4 joint press conference. The summit’s resolution will state that NATO supports the Ukrainian government, as well as the bilateral actions of its member-states to ensure military support for Ukraine, Poroshenko said after meeting with the heads of state of the U.S., Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy. “That’s exactly what we were anticipating,” he said.
NATO member-states are ready to offer Ukraine EUR 15 mln in financial aid to conduct reforms in its security sector, Rasmussen reported after a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO commission in Newport, Wales. NATO will offer consultations in conducting the reforms, which consist of a complex specialized package of measures, he said. “We will focus on cybersecurity, logistics, command management and communications,” he said, adding there will be a program for the social rehabilitation of wounded soldiers. These programs will be financed by four special trust funds. Meanwhile, each NATO member-state will be left to decide whether to offer military supplies, Rasmussen said.
Zenon Zawada: NATO is offering adequate support for Ukraine, which has the burden of proving that it won’t waste such aid through corruption. The success of these programs will lead to further support. NATO’s backing should make Moscow thinking twice about any further military advances, though it’s questionable whether the Kremlin will take heed.