Selenskyj at the NATO summit – but no quick accession of Ukraine

According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the Defense Alliance summit in Lithuania in July.

However, it was considered very unlikely that this would pave the way for the Russian-attacked country to be included in the Western military alliance, as Ukraine is demanding.

“I invited him and I am glad that he has accepted the invitation and will attend the NATO summit in Vilnius,” Stoltenberg said on Friday on the sidelines of a meeting of the international contact group for the coordination of military aid to Ukraine in the US. Ramstein. Air base in the southwestern German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Criticism of NATO came again from Russia on Friday. “NATO apparently continues to flood Ukraine and involve the alliance,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax news agency. Referring to the invasion of Ukraine ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin 14 months ago, Peskov continued: “All this once again shows to anyone who has at least a modicum of intellectual ability that the President’s decision to carry out this operation start was correct.”

One of the Kremlin’s official war goals is to prevent its neighbor from joining NATO – even though, as a sovereign state, it has the fundamental right to freely choose an alliance. Ukraine has enshrined the goal of joining NATO in its constitution since 2019. This was preceded, among other things, by the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Ukraine’s accession before the start of the Russian invasion last year was by no means imminent.

Stoltenberg: Before Ukraine joins NATO, it must first survive the war

Stoltenberg, who visited Kiev on Thursday for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion, assured Selenskyj that he would support the membership application in principle. “Ukraine has a place in NATO,” he said. Admittedly, accession was already being considered at the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, without mentioning a timetable. Stoltenberg made it clear in Ramstein that a quick confession is not an option at the moment. “The most important thing now is for Ukraine to win,” Stoltenberg said. “Because if Ukraine doesn’t assert itself as a sovereign independent nation in Europe, there’s no point in talking about membership.” He spoke out in favor of further talks on the sale of Western fighter jets to Ukraine. So far, Kiev has received Soviet-designed fighter jets from the West, but would like to have Western-designed aircraft.

Zelenskyj calls for “well-deserved invitation”

Zelensky, on the other hand, called for the NATO summit in July to clear the way for his country’s entry into the Western military alliance. Neither in Ukraine, nor in Europe, nor in NATO would the majority of the population understand if Kiev did not receive a “well-deserved invitation,” Zelensky said in his daily video address on Thursday evening. Hardly anyone currently contributes more to Euro-Atlantic security than the Ukrainian soldiers. Kiev therefore “made every effort to ensure that our request is met”.

The US and its partners promise further aid to Kiev

At the Ramstein meeting, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledged to his Western partners to continue supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia. “Ukraine urgently needs our help to protect its citizens, infrastructure and units against the threat of Russian missiles,” Austin said Friday at the US military base in the Palatinate. We will support Ukraine for as long as it takes.

Ukraine reports nightly drone strikes – Kiev also hit

Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine again with combat drones. The Ukrainian General Staff announced on Facebook that eight out of 10 nationwide attacks could have been repelled on Friday night. For the first time in almost a month, Russian drones have again fired on the capital Kiev. Meanwhile, air raid sirens had been issued throughout Ukraine during the night. Initially, nothing was known about possible victims. Trench warfare continued on the fronts in the east and south of the country. Neither side reported major land gains.

LONDON: Russians overestimate mud problem for Ukrainian offensive

Ahead of an expected Ukrainian offensive, Russian online media deliberately overestimate the importance of soil conditions, according to British military experts. This is apparently done to boost morale, according to the British Ministry of Defense intelligence update on the Russian offensive war. Mines are likely to be a major constraint on terrain maneuverability.

Russian fighter jet accidentally bombs Russian city

A Russian fighter jet accidentally fired on the Russian town of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border. “A huge crater with a radius of 20 meters has formed at the intersection of one of the main roads,” Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Thursday evening. Three people were injured. According to the defense ministry in Moscow, the fighter jet shot down “unplanned munitions”. (oee/sda/dpa)