Some nations might ship troops to defend Ukraine, says ex-NATO chief

Some NATO nations that share a border with Russia would possibly ship troops to Ukraine on their very own if alliance members, together with the U.S., fail to offer “tangible security guarantees” on the upcoming summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated.

Suppose NATO members can’t agree on a transparent path ahead for Ukraine. In that case, there’s a “clear possibility” that some nations would possibly take motion to help Kyiv, together with placing “boots on the ground,” Mr. Rasmussen stated in remarks printed in The Guardian newspaper.

“I think the Poles would seriously consider going in to assemble a ‘coalition of the willing’ if Ukraine doesn’t get anything in Vilnius,” Mr. Rasmussen stated. “We shouldn’t underestimate the Polish feelings. The Poles feel that for too long western Europe did not listen to their warnings against the true Russian mentality.”

Current NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated all member states agree that Ukraine will ultimately be part of the alliance. During a current assembly of NATO international ministers in Oslo, Norway, Mr. Stoltenberg stated an important activity at hand is to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign and impartial state. 

“We don’t know when the war ends. But we must ensure that, when it does, we have credible arrangements in place to guarantee Ukraine’s security in the future and to break Russia’s cycle of aggression,” Mr. Stoltenberg stated.

Some NATO allies is perhaps in favor of providing Ukraine safety ensures to keep away from discussing Kyiv’s need to hitch the alliance. But Mr. Rasmussen, who led NATO from 2009-14, stated he’s assured the difficulty of membership will likely be raised on the July 11-12 summit in Vilnius.

“I’ve spoken with several eastern European leaders, and there is a ground of hardcore, eastern (and) central European allies that want, at least, a clear path for Ukraine toward NATO membership,” Mr. Rasmussen stated. “Anything less than that would be a disappointment to Ukraine.”