Brussels, 15 June 2023 (dpa/MIA) — NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that he expects "many new pledges" for arms and ammunition deliveries to Ukraine ahead of a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Thursday.

The US-led group brings together around 50 nations supplying weapons and other support to Kyiv and is due to meet in Brussels on Thursday.

While Ukraine needs different types of support, the focus of the meeting lies on sustaining the weapon systems already supplied, "meaning that they have the ammunition, the spare parts, the maintenance, the repair capacity," Stoltenberg said.

He also welcomed the decision of several NATO member countries to provide training to Ukrainian pilots.

"This is important and it will enable us to, at a later stage, also make decisions to deliver 4th generation fighter aircrafts, like for instance the F16s," he said.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov is expected to attend the event which will be followed by a 2-day meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels.