Top military weapons buyers from dozens of countries are huddling in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss next steps in arming Ukraine for the long haul, and to begin mapping out a strategy for replenishing their own stocks depleted by the war.
The meeting takes place as the Kremlin hardens its position on the war, calling up 300,000 conscripts and threatening to use nuclear weapons if Ukraine continues its offensive against Russian-occupied territory.
Northern European countries are also scrambling to figure out what happened to natural gas pipelines on the Baltic Sea floor that ruptured on Tuesday, halting Russian gas to the rest of the continent, though European leaders suspect the explosions were intentional.
“It’s hard to imagine that it’s accidental,” Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, told reporters Tuesday, while Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki blamed Russia, saying “we do not know the details of what happened yet, but we can clearly see that it is an act of sabotage.”
The day of meetings in Brussels comes under the umbrella of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an ad hoc alliance of around 50 NATO, EU and other nations that have gathered every few weeks to discuss what military aid can be sent to Ukraine rapidly. Those meetings have spurred the transfer of American-made guided-missile launchers, along with multiple rocket launchers, armored vehicles and artillery systems from across Europe. William LaPlante, the Pentagon’s top acquisitions official, is convening Wednesday’s meeting.
The Pentagon is also expected to announce a new $1.1 billion military aid package to Ukraine on Wednesday, two people with knowledge of the issue told POLITICO. The money will be drawn from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, leaving about $400 million in the account. The fund provides money to allow the U.S. government to sign contracts with defense firms to provide long-term support for Ukraine, including air defense systems, that take longer to build. The news of the package was first reported by Reuters.
Ukrainian servicemen prepare to fire at Russian positions from a U.S.-supplied M777 howitzer in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, July 14, 2022.
