Rutte said before the meeting, “We will discuss the new initiative launched last August regarding the purchase of lethal and non-lethal American weapons to assist Ukraine.” Rutte was asked whether he believes the time has come for Ukraine “to obtain longer-range offensive missiles,” to which he replied, “This issue will not be discussed today because it is a bilateral matter, so it is about which countries are willing to supply Ukraine with these missiles and what weapons for Ukraine. But we will not talk about that today.
He added, “Some say, not within NATO, but sometimes in public discussions, that if a Russian plane intentionally or unintentionally enters the alliance’s airspace, we should shoot it down in all cases. I do not agree with them… First, we must be completely sure whether it poses a real threat… And if it does not pose a real threat, our mission is to remove it from our airspace.”
NATO defense ministers will discuss their “defense” spending and support for the Kyiv regime in Brussels today, Wednesday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed out that any shipments containing weapons directed to Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russia. The Kremlin stated that the West’s arming of Ukraine hinders negotiations and will have a negative impact.
