INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ukraine urged NATO members Tuesday to speed up weapons deliveries and help restore its shattered power grid, as Western allies vowed to
bolster support to aid Kyiv through winter in the face of Russia's attacks.Moscow has unleashed waves of strikes against Ukraine's
Dmytro Kuleba called for supplies of weapons, especially advanced air defence systems, to come "faster, faster, faster" as he joined a
two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Romanian capital Bucharest."When we have transformers and generators, we can restore our
system, our energy grid, and provide people with decent living conditions," Kuleba said."When we have air defense systems, we will be able
to protect this infrastructure from the next Russian missile strikes.""In a nutshell, Patriots and transformers is what Ukraine needs the
Russian President Vladimir Putin of targeting infrastructure in a bid to use the winter as "a weapon of war" against Ukraine.Stoltenberg
said NATO allies had pledged more support for Ukraine to fix its infrastructure and would keep on sending arms and air defences to help it
better protect itself.He said there was an "ongoing discussion" on supplying the Patriot systems that Washington and others have so far
refused to give to Kyiv."NATO is not a party to the war
But we will continue to support Ukraine
as the Kremlin suffers defeats on the ground and warned Europe should "be prepared for more refugees."United States Secretary of State
Antony Blinken has announced a package worth $53 million "to support acquisition of critical electricity grid equipment" by Kyiv.A senior
United States official said the assistance would not be the last and pointed out that the Biden administration had budgeted $1.1 billion
for energy spending in Ukraine and neighboring Moldova.'Keep calm, give tanks'Allies have given arms worth billions of dollars to Ukraine,
but Kyiv is pleading for more air defence, tanks and longer-range missiles to push the Kremlin's forces back.But there are growing
concerns that weapon stores in some NATO countries are running low as stockpiles have been diverted to Ukraine.Lithuanian Foreign Minister
Gabrielius Landsbergis said his request to fellow NATO ministers was simple: "Keep calm and give tanks."Germany, which currently chairs the
G7, convened a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO gathering to discuss the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.Germany's foreign
minister Annalena Baerbock said the participants had looked to "better understand and prioritize the most urgent needs" ahead of an
international conference in Paris on Dec
13.Separately, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and said Germany would dispatch 350 generators
and provide financial assistance to repair energy infrastructure worth 56 million euros ($57 million).Zelensky said they had discussed
restoration, food security," Zelensky said in his daily video address late Tuesday, noting that "the situation at the front is
difficult.""Despite extremely big Russian losses, the occupiers are still trying to advance in the Donetsk region, gain a foothold in the
Luhansk region, move in the Kharkiv region, they are planning something in the south," he said."But we are holding out."'Door is open'NATO
said the meeting in Bucharest has showcased its unity on continuing to support Ukraine as Moscow's war against its neighbor drags into its
10th month.The alliance did not, however, make any progress on Ukraine's request to join, despite reiterating it remained committed to its
pledge made some 14 years ago that Kyiv would one day become a member.Stoltenberg insisted the "door is open" to new members but said the
focus now was on assisting Ukraine in its fight with Moscow.Oleksiy Arestovych, an aide to the Ukrainian president, said "several concrete
and important announcements were made" at the summit."Ukraine can become a member of the alliance after the end of hostilities" and "support
to Ukraine will be expanded in terms of energy and military," he noted in a statement.Besides the war in Ukraine, the ministers will take
stock of progress in the accession of NATO candidates Finland and Sweden, already ratified by 28 of the 30 member countries but which
remains suspended awaiting a green light from Hungary and Turkey.The Finnish, Swedish and Turkish foreign ministers met on the sidelines of
