Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, called on the allied states to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems.

He mentioned this before a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, European Pravda reports.

These weapons are required to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian missile attacks.

“We will consider how to increase the assistance to Ukraine, and the main priority will be strengthening the air defense of Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said.

He stressed that Ukraine needs more variety of systems to protect its sky.

“I welcome the fact that NATO allies are providing the air defense systems. This is extremely important. And I welcome the recent announcement made by Germany and the delivery of the German air defense system to Ukraine. I think we have all seen why this is of such importance. Terrible attacks against Ukrainian cities, murdered civilians, destroyed critical civilian infrastructure, and severe attacks on the energy system on the eve of winter, “said the NATO Secretary-General.

He added that Ukraine is a big country with a large number of cities, so support needs to be increased to protect more citizens.

“All this demonstrates the urgent need for more air defense for Ukraine. The Allies provided air defense systems, but more was required. We need different types of air defense systems – short range, long range, air defense systems against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones. Different systems for different tasks,” Stoltenberg said.

Yesterday, according to Interfax-Ukraine, the NATO Secretary-General stated that the defense ministers of NATO member states should decide on further planning of the production of ammunition and weapons not only to continue their assistance to Ukraine but also to replenish their own reserves.

“Ammunition, Javelin, and air defense systems for Ukraine were dispatched from available supplies. In doing so, they (allies) exhaust theirs, but that was the right thing to do. Therefore, we are now deciding to accelerate production in order to replenish both supplies and continue supporting Ukraine,” he said.

Stoltenberg shared that the dialogue with arms manufacturers on accelerating production to replenish supplies is already ongoing.

According to Stoltenberg, Ukraine needs different weapons systems. These include artillery, armored vehicles, anti-aircraft systems, and anti-tank weapons. Needs such as fuel, winter clothing, and communication equipment are also not going away.