It was reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday that during a meeting that lasted over two days NATO official and chair of NATO's Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, stated that allied territories must change the way they support Ukraine in its conflict with the neighboring country, Russia.
Bauer's opening statement is as follows "We need public and private actors to change their mindset for an era in which everything was plannable, foreseeable, controllable and focused on efficiency to an era in which anything can happen at any time. An era in which we need to expect the unexpected." Bauer's statement continued, "In order to be fully effective, also in the future, we need a warfighting transformation of NATO".
The Promises
On Monday U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps stated that the U.K. will be sending 20,000 troops so that they can take part in NATO's military exercises titled "Steadfast Defender". Many of the troops were deployed to Eastern Europe through the period of February and June. The nation has also stated that it will be sending advanced fighter jets, surveillance planes, and even warships as well as submarines.
The Norwegian government has also set aside 2 billion Kroner (which converts to $192 million) to boost defense industry capabilities to provide necessary ammunition as supplies continue to deplete. Norway's Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram also stated that their "increasing capacity in the defense industry is important, both for Ukraine, but also to safeguard our own security."
Bauer seemingly ended on a powerful note with the following statement "Today is the 693rd day of what Russia thought would be a three-day war. Ukraine will have our support for every day that is to come because the outcome of this war will determine the fate of the world." Bauer further decalred, "This war has never been about any real security threat to Russia coming from either Ukraine or NATO," Bauer added. "This war is about Russia fearing something much more powerful than any physical weapon on earth - democracy. If people in Ukraine can have democratic rights, then people in Russia will soon crave them too."
It is unclear whether these promises of support will follow through as both the United States and other territories have seen a setback in their attempt to send aid over to Ukraine which has seen a strain on its defense capabilities as Russian airstrikes continue to strike the territory.
