New Zealand Unable to Continue Aiding Ukraine Militarily, Defense Minister Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine’s demands for military support do not match New Zealand's current stockpile, New Zealand Defense Minister Peeni Henare said on Tuesday.

"On those donor calls, they've come asking and it's for HIMARS, land-to-air defence systems and also land-to-sea defence systems," Henare said, as quoted by the Australian Associated Press (AAP).

However, New Zealand has nothing that Ukraine wants based on "on our current assessment and according to the requests in the donor meetings I've been on," the minister said.

To date, New Zealand sent Ukraine 1,066 body armor plates, 473 helmets and 571 camouflage vests, as well as harness webbing. In addition, Wellington has agreed to provide 21.1 million New Zealand dollars ($12 million) in military funding, according to the AAP.

New Zealand is a major non-NATO ally of the United States.

In April, Russia sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on the Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stressed that providing Kiev with Western arms does not contribute to the resolution of the Ukraine conflict and will only have negative consequences.