British Defense Secretary John Healey says NATO allies in Europe are committed to continue supporting Ukraine and at the same time increasing pressure on Russia’s Vladimir Putin to bring him to the negotiating table.
Healey spoke following a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“The nations around the table, the UK are strongly behind President Trump’s determination to secure an end to this conflict, to secure what he has said he wanted, which is a durable piece,” Healey said when asked to comment on the latest statements by his American counterpart Pete Hegseth.
“The commitment that we have made is to make sure that we put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, while it is fighting, when it chooses to talk,” said John Healey.
Alongside military support to Ukraine, NATO allies intend to step up the pressure on Russia “through energy, through economics, through diplomacy”, which is part of U.S. President Trump’s pledge to bring president Putin to the negotiating table.
Answering a question of whether in his opinion it is doable for Europe to provide an overwhelming share of assistance to Ukraine, as per the position of the U.S. administration, Healey said: “The nations around the table and the discussion this afternoon confirmed that the European nations and the wider international nations alongside the U.S can step up their help for Ukraine, and we will”.
He reminded that NATO Secretary General Rutte had also confirmed today that “50% of the military aid put into the hands of Ukrainians in the last year was provided and delivered by European nations”.
“So, we are stepping up the support of Ukraine. We will do more. We’ll do that alongside the Americans. And we will do that to support President Trump’s pledge to bring Putin to the table and to secure a durable lasting piece for this war in Ukraine,” Healey said.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. stands by the position that European allies need to own responsibility for European security and provide an overwhelming share of assistance provided to Ukraine.
Photo: AEI
Source: UK defense chief on stepping up support for Ukraine: “We will do more”
