On Tuesday 24 June, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte tried to reassure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the Allies would support Kyiv, despite the fact that, unlike last year, no NATO-Ukraine Council at leaders’ level is planned, nor is a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Mr Zelensky.
“All the Allies are asking me to support you, to keep you fighting and to lead this terrible war towards a lasting peace”, promised Mr Rutte as he welcomed Mr Zelensky, explaining that at NATO they were “among friends”.
According to the Secretary General, the summit in The Hague will lead to “important decisions concerning Ukraine”, building on the Washington summit, where the Allies decided that Ukraine would irreversibly join NATO. “And we are building this bridge as we speak”, explained Mr Rutte, without giving any further details. “It is important that [the] direction [taken at the NATO summit in Washington] does not change”, stressed Mr Zelensky.
Mr Zelensky reiterated that “the unity of NATO countries, the whole of Europe and the European Union” around Ukraine was “essential” and opened the way “to strengthening Ukraine, to providing solid support, to helping [his] fellow citizens and their families living abroad and to ensuring the survival of Ukrainians at home”.
The declaration to be adopted at the end of Wednesday’s summit should mention support for Ukraine - which contributes to the security of the Allies - and include Allied defence spending on Kyiv in the new 5% target, which should be agreed.
Mr Rutte also explained, as announced the previous day, that the European and Canadian Allies had already pledged more than €35 billion in aid to Ukraine “before 1 July”, more than last year, when total military support amounted to €50 billion. The United States, for its part, has not announced any new support since Donald Trump came to power. Mr Zelensky called for continued efforts to provide his country with anti-aircraft defences and to work on the co-production of military equipment.
Later in the day, the Ukrainian President and the NATO Secretary General met with the Presidents of the European Council, António Costa, and the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to closely coordinate the practical support provided by the EU and NATO to Ukraine, according to Mr Rutte. Ms von der Leyen and Mr Costa reiterated Europe’s support for Ukraine. “Discussions focused on how the EU and NATO can continue to support Ukraine effectively. More specifically, the leaders discussed how the new SAFE programme and NATO’s new defence commitment can strengthen Member States’ military support for Ukraine”, a European source told Agence Europe. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)