Blinken: Ukraine must make hard, but necessary, decisions

 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken leaves after a press conference during a NATO foreign ministers' meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Dec. 4, 2024.

In his final appearance at NATO headquarters as U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken spoke about Ukraine and what he said are the hard, but necessary, decisions it must make about mobilizing its forces on the front lines to “deal with Russian aggression.”

At the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, the top U.S. diplomat said the alliance has made a commitment “for every person, every soldier that Ukraine mobilizes.” He said NATO is “committed” to ensuring that Ukraine has “the training and the equipment they need to effectively defend the country.”

Separately, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is urging the Atlantic alliance to provide Ukraine with enough support to change what he called the “trajectory” of the war with Russia. He made his comments after meeting with the foreign ministers. Additionally, Rutte urged European countries to boost their defense spending. He said spending 2% of GDP on military budgets is not enough for deterrence.

During former U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term in office, he criticized NATO for not spending more money on defense. Trump also has refused to say he wants Ukraine to defeat Russia and voiced skepticism about continued U.S. military aid. Trump has said he will resolve the war before he takes office January 20 but has not explained how that would happen.

In addition to the war in Ukraine, the foreign ministers Tuesday discussed what Rutte said was an “escalating campaign” of Russian hostile actions toward NATO countries, including acts of sabotage and cybercrimes.

Drone attacks

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military said Tuesday it shot down 29 of 50 drones that Russia launched in its latest round of overnight attacks.

The intercepts took place over the Chernihiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy and Ternopil regions, the Ukrainian air force said.

Officials in Kharkiv reported damage to a business from a downed drone, while officials in Sumy said Russian shelling damaged several buildings.

Russia’s defense ministry said Tuesday it shot down 24 Ukrainian drones overnight, and 11 more early in the day.

Officials in Russia’s Ryazan region said a drone damaged four houses but caused no casualties.

Ukrainian drones were also shot down over the Rostov, Bryansk, Belgorod, Krasnodar, Kursk and Kaluga regions, the ministry said.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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