Leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries have stressed their alliance’s unity and affirmed continued support for Ukraine in their summit declaration.
The declaration was adopted on Wednesday at the NATO summit meeting in Washington.
The leaders stressed unity and solidarity in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying they are “bound together by shared values: individual liberty, human rights, democracy and the rule of law.”
They agreed to strengthen NATO’s role in supporting Ukraine and to coordinate the provision of military equipment and training of Ukrainian soldiers.
NATO members have provided 40 billion euros, or about 43 billion dollars, in military aid each year since the start of Russia’s invasion. They agreed to sustain that level next year.
The leaders also confirmed efforts to strengthen their countries’ defense industries, noting that ammunition is running low on Ukrainian battlefields.
The declaration says the leaders “condemn in the strongest possible terms” the Russian attacks on the Ukrainian people, including a children’s hospital in the capital Kyiv, on Monday. It demands that Russia stop the war immediately.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters, “The more credible and enduring our support, the quicker Moscow will realize it cannot wait us out and the sooner the war can end.”