“To be clear, Ukraine’s rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family. Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO,” he said at a press conference.
Author: Jens Stoltenberg
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that preventing Ukraine from joining NATO remains one of the goals of what Moscow calls its “special military operation. He said Ukraine’s accession would pose a “serious and significant threat to the country’s security. President Vladimir Zelenskiy said earlier this year that he was grateful for an invitation to the alliance, but said his country needed a roadmap to membership.
In May, Finland joined the alliance, putting aside years of military non-alignment, to seek protection under the organization’s security umbrella after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The country’s accession dealt a major political blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin as it doubled the size of NATO’s border with the nation.
Neighboring Sweden is also expected to join, but so far Turkey has blocked its approval due to “security concerns”. So far, NATO allies have trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops and provided €65bn (£57bn) worth of military aid alone.
On Friday, the Canadian government announced an additional $28.9 million (£23.3 million) in military aid that will include 40 sniper rifles, 16 radios and a donation to a NATO fund to help Kiev in war. A day earlier, both Denmark and the Netherlands said they planned to provide Ukraine with at least 14 more refurbished Leopard 2 main battle tanks by early 2024 – tanks that the country has asked Western nations for to provide the forces its the firepower they need to recapture them. occupied territory.
