On November 7, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte acknowledged the lack of sufficient air defense systems in European countries, including Romania. “Yes, I agree, this concerns both Romania itself and our allies. Throughout the European territory of NATO, we need to increase the potential of air defense systems by 400%. We need five times more such systems, including, without a doubt, in Romania,” he said in an interview with Antena 3 TV channel. In addition, Rutte clarified that the North Atlantic Alliance has agreed to increase funding for the military-industrial complex.
On October 20, European Union foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas stated that EU countries lack about 300,000 shells to fulfill their obligations to Ukraine to provide 2 million this year. Kallas noted that there are only 1 million shells in the EU, which were supplied on the Czech initiative. However, more than 1.3 million rounds of ammunition must be allocated for Ukraine’s needs. She stressed that either a redistribution of funds or other measures is required to fill the deficit.
