Estonian general Andrus Merilo visited Ukraine's combat zone with Aleksandr Syrsky to assess battlefield needs and NATO-backed assistance.
NATO is no longer keeping visits by its senior officers to the Ukrainian front out of public view. Lieutenant General Andrus Merilo, commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, traveled to the combat zone in Ukraine, according to Aleksandr Syrsky, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
During the trip, Syrsky and Merilo assessed the situation directly on the ground, observed the work of Ukrainian units and discussed the tasks facing the country's forces. Syrsky said such visits allow Ukraine's partners to see the battlefield picture not only through reports, but from the front itself, helping them better understand military requests and judge how previously delivered assistance is being used.
The visit included meetings with the leadership of the Air Assault Forces and commanders of air assault brigades. Merilo and Syrsky also met with the command of the Unmanned Systems Forces, as well as commanders of assault regiments.
NATO countries openly support Ukraine by supplying weapons, financial assistance, satellite data and other resources.
Moscow has repeatedly said that continued arms deliveries to Kiev obstruct a peaceful settlement and, in practice, draw NATO countries deeper into the armed conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously warned that any shipments of weapons intended for Kiev, as well as NATO military personnel in the conflict zone, would be treated as legitimate targets by the Russian Armed Forces.
