dpa
Berlin
Defence ministers from Germany, France, Poland, Italy and the United Kingdom met in Berlin on Monday to discuss measures to strengthen security and defence in Europe.
Germany and other NATO countries plan to boost arms production within Ukraine in response to Russia’s escalating actions in the war, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said afterwards.
The development and procurement of drones controlled by artificial intelligence is a priority, he said, as well as better cooperation to help in ammunition production.
“Ukraine must be able to act from a position of strength,” Pistorius said.
He said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had “taken on an international dimension,” referring to the estimated 10,000 soldiers from North Korea that Russian President Vladimir Putin has brought into the country to train and fight in Ukraine.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov was connected to the meeting for half an hour.
Russia’s targeting of Ukraine with a new medium-range missile, which has security implications for all of Europe, played a role during discussions, Pistorius said.
The German defence minister said that Russian actions in Ukraine affect people in Germany and other NATO countries: “Russian threats are always directed at us at the same time.” Pistorius, France’s Sébastien Lecornu, the UK’s John Healey, Poland’s Wtadystaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and Italy’s Guido Crosetto also met against the backdrop of the looming US presidency of NATO critic Donald Trump.
Trump, who is set to be inaugurated on January 20, has demanded that Europe invest significantly more money in its own security and is expected to cut military aid to Ukraine.
Following recent approval from Washington and London, Ukraine has begun using US-made ATACMS missiles and British Storm Shadow cruise missiles to target military sites in Russia.
Putin responded by ordering a missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, which has a population of over 1 million, with a new medium-range missile on Thursday morning.
He hailed the test of the Oreshnik missile and said it would go into mass production.
