We aren’t waiting for NATO troops, Ukraine’s FM says

NATO countries will not send their troops to Ukraine until the war with Russia ends even, Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said after the Alliance’s former chief suggested the move could be a form of security guarantees to Kyiv.

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In case Ukraine failed to get the guarantees it wanted at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday some states could send troops to Ukraine at Kyiv’s request.

Speaking on Ukrainian TV channel 1+1, Mr Kuleba said he believes that won’t happen.

"Until the armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine is over, foreign countries will not send their troops into our country," Ukraine’s foreign minister explained.

"Moreover, we are not asking for this, what we are saying is give us weapons, we know how to fight."

Mr Kuleba added that when Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, "our brigades will be in other NATO countries and will protect them."

Mr Rasmussen’s statement came as NATO’s current chief Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine’s security guarantees are to be discussed at the Vilnius summit, but the Alliance can only provide full security to its full-fledged members.