ISTANBUL 

A two-day meeting of NATO military chiefs to discuss a variety of issues, including the alliance's support to Ukraine, started in Brussels on Wednesday.

The session, which began after opening remarks by Adm. Rob Bauer, chair of the NATO Military Committee, and Mircea Geoana, NATO deputy secretary general, will be chaired by Bauer and attended by the allied military chiefs as well as their counterparts from invitees Finland and Sweden.

"Unfortunately, we are seeing the dawn of a new era of collective defense. However, it is an era that NATO is ready for," Bauer said. "We have shown the world that we are capable of quickly scaling up our presence whenever and wherever necessary."

For his part, Geoana said NATO "must retain the military capacity and capability to defend the alliance against all challenges, now and in the future, including in multi-domain operations."

He underlined three areas that require attention in the run-up to the forthcoming summit, which will take place in Vilnius later this year, as increasing defense spending, increasing ammunition and weapon manufacturing, and updating NATO for the digital era.

The first day's discussions will focus on security challenges facing the alliance, Russia's war on Ukraine, strengthening the alliance's capacity and capabilities, strengthening its defense and deterrence, digital transformation, evaluating the readiness level of NATO forces, and military stocks and logistics.

On Thursday, 32 military chiefs will exchange views with Kosovo Force (KFOR) operational partners on the situation on the ground, the security environment, and KFOR’s mission. The Military Committee will then discuss NATO’s non-combat and capacity-building mission in Iraq.

At the final session, the military heads will address NATO’s ongoing support of Kyiv.

A press conference will be held after the two-day meeting.