BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO started coordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine after the Netherlands said it would provide air defense equipment, ammunition, and other military aid worth 500 million euros ($578 million), most bought from the U.S.
Two deliveries are expected this month. The equipment that will be provided is based on Ukraine’s priority needs on the battlefield. NATO allies then locate the weapons and ammunition and send them on.
“Packages will be prepared rapidly and issued on a regular basis,” NATO said late Monday
Air defense systems are in the greatest need. The United Nations has said that Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians.
Russia’s bigger army is also making slow but costly progress along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. Currently, it is waging an operation to take the eastern city of Pokrovsk, a logistical hub whose fall could allow it to drive deeper into Ukraine.
The new deliveries will come on top of other pledges of military equipment.
The Kiel Institute, which tracks support to Ukraine, estimates that as of June, European countries had provided 72 billion euros ($83 billion) worth of military aid since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, compared to $65 billion in U.S. aid.
Germany said Friday that it will deliver two more Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine in the coming days. It agreed to the move after securing assurances that the U.S. would prioritize the delivery of new Patriots to Germany to backfill its stocks. These weapon systems are only made in the U.S.
