NATO secretary general announces start of work of aid coordination command for Ukraine

The NATO command for coordinating assistance to Ukraine has started its work in Germany. This was announced by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in Brussels on December 18.

"NATO command for assistance to Ukraine and preparations are already launched and working," he said during the speech, broadcast by the YouTube channel of the alliance.

According to "Gazeta.ru", also on Wednesday evening in Brussels is scheduled an informal meeting between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and heads of several other countries with Mark Rutte on Ukraine.

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Earlier in the day, Rutte confirmed a mini-summit on the conflict in Ukraine with European Union leaders in Brussels. According to him, several leaders of European countries gathered to discuss a number of issues, including the supply of weapons, air defense.

Prior to that, Reuters reported citing sources that European leaders are discussing the issue of sending 100 thousand military to Ukraine in case of a ceasefire and signing a peace agreement. It was noted that France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK could form the bulk of the forces. According to these reports, estimates of the required number of troops vary from 40,000 to 100,000, and there is no consensus in Europe on the nature of the mission.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kiev against the backdrop of Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.