Joint statement
by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg with the Ukrainian Defence Minister, Oleksii Reznikov
(As delivered)
So Minister Reznikov,
dear Oleksii,
It’s great to see you again here at the NATO headquarters,
And we meet at a critical time for our security.
And it's critical time for Ukraine because you have just launched the counter offensive, you are making gains.
It's fierce fighting.
And the gains you are making is due to the courage, the skills, the bravery of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
And we pay our tribute and our great respect to what they are delivering every day.
It highlights also the importance of support from NATO Allies.
To sustain and step up the military support, we see that the support and the training NATO Allies and partners have delivered is making a difference on the battlefield every day.
And in the meeting now in the Ukraine Defense Contact group and also later on today, in the NATO-Ukraine Commission, NATO Allies will express their strong solidarity with Ukraine, we will also at our defense ministerial meeting discuss the preparations for the Vilnius Summit.
And the main message from the Vilnius Summit will be that all Allies stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes, we must ensure that President Putin does not win this war, but that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation.
So once again, warm welcome to you.
It's always a great pleasure and honour to see you and I look forward to our meeting later on today, please.