The NATO Parliamentary Assembly called on their governments to accelerate deliveries of military assistance to Ukraine and lift restrictions that prohibit their use against military targets inside Russia.

The official website of the NATO PA announced this.

“Ukraine must be provided with all that it needs, as quickly as possible and for as long as it takes for it to win,” said a Declaration. It was adopted by a majority of more than 200 lawmakers from all 32 Allies on Monday, May 27, at the end of the spring session held in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The plenary meeting was attended by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev.

The Declaration states that current military assistance efforts “are not enough for Ukraine’s victory” and allies must move beyond incremental steps to a strategy that will give Ukraine “everything it needs, as soon as possible and for as long as it takes to win.”

A Declaration urged Allied governments “to support Ukraine in its international right to defend itself by lifting some restrictions on the use of weapons provided by NATO Allies to strike legitimate targets in Russia.”

Michal Szczerba, President of the NATO PA, emphasized the importance of delivering air defense systems and other vital weapons to Ukraine quickly and without restrictions.

“They need our help. Not in two years. Not in two months. Not even in two weeks. They need it now. We must speed up and step up. Give Ukraine everything it needs,” Szczerba told the meeting.

“Ukraine can only defend itself if it can attack Russia’s supply lines and Russian bases of operation. It is time to recognise this reality and let Ukraine do what it must,” he added.

Long-term assistance

The Declaration emphasizes that the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., scheduled for July, “must send a clear signal that Allies will stand with Ukraine until victory and must take a concrete step forward towards Ukraine’s NATO membership.”

Jens Stoltenberg believes that the summit should make progress in strengthening the Alliance’s role in providing and coordinating long-term military assistance to Ukraine.

The NATO Secretary General also agreed on the need to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons to “strike legitimate targets outside Ukraine” as part of the country’s right to self-defense.