NATO allies ‘agree Ukraine will develop into member’

All NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will develop into a member, says secretary common Jens Stoltenberg.

Speaking forward of a gathering of the Ukraine defence contact group at Ramstein air base in Germany, he additionally instructed reporters that, as soon as the struggle in Ukraine ends, Kyiv should have “the deterrence to prevent new attacks”.

He stated that the primary focus is now to make sure the nation prevails in opposition to Russia.

It comes after Mr Stoltenberg yesterday pledged continued assist for the nation throughout his first go to to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion simply over a 12 months in the past.

“Let me be clear, Ukraine’s rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family,” he instructed a information convention.

“Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO.”

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Thursday that stopping Ukraine from becoming a member of NATO stays one of many targets of what Moscow calls its “special military operation.”

He stated that Ukraine’s accession would pose a “serious, significant threat to our country, to our country’s security”.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated earlier this 12 months that he was grateful for an invite into the alliance, however stated his nation wants a roadmap for changing into a member.

So far, NATO allies have educated tens of 1000’s of Ukrainian troops and supplied €65bn (£57bn) of navy support alone.

On Friday, the Canadian authorities introduced an extra $28.9m (£23.3m) in navy support that can embody 40 sniper rifles, 16 radio units and a donation to a NATO fund to assist Kyiv within the struggle.

A day earlier, each Denmark and the Netherlands stated they plan to offer Ukraine with no less than one other 14 refurbished Leopard 2 battle tanks by early 2024 – tanks that the nation pleaded Western nations for, with a view to give its forces the firepower they should retake occupied territory.