NATO Chief: Support for Ukraine Makes Difference on the Battlefield

By Staff, Agencies

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that the alliance’s support for Ukraine is making a difference on the battlefield, referring to Kiev’s first gains in the long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia.

"The support NATO allies have been giving Ukraine now for many, many months actually makes a difference on the battlefield," Stoltenberg told reporters in Belgium.

Ahead of a summit of NATO leaders in Lithuania's capital Vilnius next month, the alliance’s defense ministers are discussing long-term support for Ukraine at a two-day summit in Brussels. The 31 NATO countries are considering incremental steps to strengthen ties with Kiev, including a multi-year program to help Ukraine bring its security forces to NATO operational and technical standards, according to officials cited by Reuters.

With four weeks to go until the NATO summit that is expected to approve the plan, there is a general consensus that Ukraine cannot join the alliance while fighting is still underway on its territory. Earlier in June, this position was accepted by Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky despite him previously pushing for speedy admission.

A senior alliance source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that there is "a hard search on to find a mechanism that brings Ukraine closer to NATO without taking them into NATO." Earlier on Wednesday, US ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith told reporters that the alliance members are still discussing how to respond to the Kiev government's membership aspirations.