NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg meets with the alliance’s defense ministers Tuesday in Brussels to discuss spending targets. They may agree as soon as this summer to spend at least 2% of their economic output on defense, a slight shift from the alliance’s 10-year-old pledge to “move toward the 2% guideline.”
(Bloomberg) — NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg meets with the alliance’s defense ministers Tuesday in Brussels to discuss spending targets. They may agree as soon as this summer to spend at least 2% of their economic output on defense, a slight shift from the alliance’s 10-year-old pledge to “move toward the 2% guideline.”
Ukraine is going through ammunition “many times higher” than allies’ current rate of production, straining industries, Stoltenberg said. The waiting time for large-caliber ammunition has increased from 12 to 28 months, which means that orders placed now won’t be delivered until two-and-a-half years later, he said.
Russia’s military is still struggling in Ukraine, as President Vladimir Putin “continues to change generals the way I swap socks,” John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, told reporters.
(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)
Key Developments
- NATO Struggles to Meet Spending Goals as It Mulls Higher Target
- JPMorgan to Help Ukraine on Debt Capital Markets, Reconstruction
- The Devaluation Run in Frontier Markets Is Just Getting Started
- Moldovan Leader Accuses Russia of Ouster Plot in Security Push
- Wheat Futures Touch Two-Month High on Black Sea Supply Concerns
On the Ground
Russian forces continued their offensive, focusing on Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Avdiivka in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, according to Ukraine’s armed forces general staff. The Institute for the Study of War said that Russian forces made marginal territorial gains near Bakhmut and continued to conduct ground attacks across the Donetsk region. The Russian army also unsuccessfully attacked Ukrainian positions in western Zaporizhzhia region while continuing to fortify positions in the region.
(All times CET)
Ukraine Needs up to $48 Billion in Funding This Year, IMF Says (7:34 a.m.)
Ukraine needs between $40 billion to $48 billion of funding this year in order for its economy to function, the head of the International Monetary Fund told a conference in Dubai.
The fund is working on a program with Ukraine and has been supporting it in running a “war economy,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. The US and European Union are involved.
“I am full of admiration for the Ukrainian authorities,” she said. She described hearing sirens and Ukrainian officials run for cover during their virtual meetings with the Washington-based lender.
NATO Struggles to Meet Spending Goals as it Eyes New Target (7:34 a.m.)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization Countries are aiming to refine their defense spending targets by their next summit in Vilnius in July. Stoltneberg has said that 2% of gross domestic product should be a floor, not a ceiling.
NATO countries have pledged to spend more on defense following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, but many nations — including Luxembourg, Canada and Italy — are still struggling to comply with the old guideline.
‘Russia’s Military Is Still Struggling,’ US Spokesman Says (7:34 a.m.)
Russia’s war in Ukraine is hobbled by Putin’s unsound decisions, logistics and sustainment problems, difficulty coordinating attacks and weaknesses in unit cohesion, spokesman Kirby told reporters at the White House.
“The Russian military is still struggling,” Kirby said. “They have not surmounted these problems. And it’s borne out by the fact that, you know, he continues to change generals the way I change socks.”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.