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Ukraine's allies to finalize tank supplies on Tuesday with no decisions in sight on fighters

They leave fighter jets for a later phase in the war and will discuss plans to increase the capacity of the arms industry.

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Ukraine's allies to finalize tank supplies on Tuesday with no decisions in sight on fighters

They leave fighter jets for a later phase in the war and will discuss plans to increase the capacity of the arms industry

BRUSELAS, 13 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Ramstein group, the military coalition of more than 40 countries that supports Ukraine under the leadership of the United States, will finalize the supply of battle tanks from Kiev this Tuesday at a meeting in Brussels, in an appointment in which they will discuss how to reinforce the anti-aircraft aid to the Ukrainian Army but in which any announcement about the combat fighters that the president, Volodimir Zelenski, is demanding is ruled out.

The appointment of the Contact Group for Ukraine on Tuesday, prior to the meeting of defense ministers, will serve to define the details together with the Ukrainian Defense Minister, Oleksi Reznikov, of the deployment of tanks promised by a series of countries at the end of January , a coalition of which Spain is a part, although its contribution is still pending confirmation while Defense carries out technical reviews of half a dozen tanks.

"My main priority is that the commitment of the allies to manage armored vehicles, infantry vehicles and tanks is carried out as soon as possible because every day counts," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference before the meeting of allied defense ministers.

In the case of Spain at this time, the Santa Bárbara company is already working on the repair and rehabilitation of five Leopard 2A4 battle tanks, information provided by the Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, who will attend the Ramstein format meeting tomorrow.

Other allies have detailed their support for Ukraine on the land front, in the case of the United Kingdom, which has 14 Challenger tanks, while Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands confirmed at least 100 Leopard 1A5 model tanks, an armament considered essential for Ukraine to be able to repel Moscow's offensive in Donbas and recapture territory occupied by Russian troops.

The coalition could mobilize over a hundred Western tanks, to which would be added the contribution of tanks from Poland or the Baltics. "This will not change the rules of the game, but it helps to maintain the support dynamic. Ukraine needs weapons and more tanks will be needed, but the taboo has been broken," explains another allied source about this step.

"We still have to approach positions on the tanks, since some allies have not yet committed themselves," these sources have indicated.

Before the ministerial meeting that comes just ten days after the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Stoltenberg has reiterated that the Russian aggression has demonstrated the validity of NATO, demonstrating "the importance of the allies remaining united", "both for provide support to Ukraine so as to protect each other, ensuring that the war does not escalate beyond Ukraine."

The same message emphasized by allied sources that indicate that unity in NATO is "unbreakable" in the face of the fight raised by Moscow. "Some questioned whether the allies would maintain the level of support, I am impressed by the level of unity and I see no sign of any country dropping its support for Ukraine," she said.

On the table of the allied ministers will also be the reinforcement of anti-aircraft aid from Ukraine, one of Kiev's clearest requests since the end of the year in the face of the wave of bombardments against critical infrastructure such as the electricity grid, although members of the Ramstein group For the moment, they rule out the supply of combat aircraft.

This was one of Zelenski's clearest requests during his tour of Europe that took him to London, Paris and Brussels, however the military coalition and NATO members advocate prudence and rule out taking the step, pointing to the risk of escalation and after remembering that it remains to be seen if Russia uses its air force against Ukraine.

While Stoltenberg has not ruled out sending fighters in the future, stating that Allied support for Kiev has been evolving since the start of the war, he has insisted that the focus now must be on ensuring that the promised tanks reach the field. of battle and that the armament administered to the Ukrainian Army has sufficient ammunition and components.

"No one says no, but that does not mean that there will be planes (for Ukraine)," says an allied source about sending combat aircraft, while another points out that it is up to each ally to decide what help they provide. to Kiev, although he also stresses the importance of making decisions through the Contact Group.

Another issue on NATO's agenda is the need to scale up the capacity of the arms industry to replenish military reserves, depleted by the unprecedented support given to Ukraine.

"The waiting time for large-calibre ammunition has increased from 12 to 28 months. The orders placed today will be delivered within two and a half years," said the NATO political chief, insisting that more must be produced to, to at the same time, to be able to deliver enough ammunition to Ukraine and guarantee the protection of NATO allies.

In his opinion, the best way is to approach multi-year contracts with the Defense sector, in such a way as to ensure the replenishment of reserves while supporting Kiev. "We are on the right track," said the former Norwegian prime minister.