On 3 December, during the visit to Brussels, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha will visit NATO Headquarters and take part in a ministerial meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council.

During a press briefing, the Foreign Minister said that the main topics of talks with NATO allies would include immediate military assistance, investments in the Ukrainian defence industry, support for Ukraine's energy system in the winter, and progress on Ukraine's path to NATO.

The Minister informed the journalists about the current situation on the battlefield and noted that it was difficult. 

‘We need to stop Russia and prevent its troops from advancing into our territory. Their logic is clear: they are trying to occupy as much territory as possible to strengthen their future negotiating position,’ he stressed.

Andrii Sybiha reminded of Moscow's hybrid attacks against a number of European states, as well as the involvement of Iran and the DPRK in direct aggression against Ukraine. 

The Minister emphasised that Europe is facing a new reality of Russian aggression and called on allies to take decisive decisions, including providing Ukraine with the necessary number and range of weapons, as well as strengthening the deterrence package against Russia. He stressed that NATO should increase the cost of aggression for Moscow.

The Foreign Minister thanked the partners for recognising Ukraine's progress in implementing the Annual National Programme and highlighted that Ukraine is committed to implementing the necessary reforms and will move quickly in this direction.

Andrii Sybiha also called on allies to urgently provide assistance in the form of additional air defence systems to strengthen Ukraine's energy resilience in the winter.

‘Ukraine urgently needs at least 20 additional HAWK, NASAMS or IRIS-T air defence systems. This will help to avoid blackouts,' he said.

The Minister demonstrated the Budapest Memorandum and noted that it is evidence that any long-term security solutions at the expense of Ukraine's security are unacceptable. 

‘This day is the 30th anniversary of this paper. This document, this paper, failed to ensure Ukrainian and transatlantic security. We must avoid repeating such mistakes. In this context, we will discuss the concept of ‘peace through strength’ with our partners,’ he concluded.