NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met with Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal in Brussels on Wednesday, reaffirming the Alliance’s commitment to sustaining military assistance for Ukraine through the winter and beyond.
Rutte praised Shmyhal’s leadership, calling it “a great honour” to host him at NATO Headquarters. He noted their long working relationship dating back to Shmyhal’s tenure as Prime Minister, saying that “Ukraine could not have a better Defence Minister.”
The Secretary General said NATO’s immediate priority remained to “keep Ukraine in the fight as strong as possible today” by ensuring Allies and partners continue to provide air defence systems, munitions and other essential military aid. He welcomed renewed US deliveries of advanced equipment under the Partnered Ukraine Resupply Line (PURL) initiative, describing it as critical to Ukraine’s defence.
According to Rutte, the number of Allies contributing to PURL has grown significantly. “We started today with six Allies committing – the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Norway and Denmark – but coming out of today’s meeting, we have over half of all Allies now committing,” he said.
The Secretary General added that NATO continues to support complementary efforts such as the Czech ammunition initiative and the Lithuanian-Danish programme to expand Ukraine’s defence industrial base.
Rutte said the day’s meetings, including the latest session of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group chaired by UK Defence Secretary John Healey and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, had been productive, with nineteen countries announcing new contributions.
He concluded by emphasising that Allies must sustain their efforts through the winter months. “We have to make clear to Putin that he can never win this and that we will keep on supporting you,” he said.
