NATO chief vows robust security assurances for Ukraine ahead of Vilnius summit

At the NATO summit in Vilnius, the allies will "discuss" Ukraine's aspirations to become a member of the Alliance and "send a very strong message of support for Ukraine", stated the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, in the building of the European Council.

As before, he stated that "all allies agree that we have an open door policy, which is evident from the path of Finland and Sweden to the Alliance."

" We also agree that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, and we agree that it is not for Russia, but for NATO members and Ukraine to decide when the time will come to extend a full invitation to join," he added.

On Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on NATO to "stop looking to the Kremlin when making decisions ." In his opinion, "there are all grounds for a political invitation".

But now, according to Stoltenberg, "the most urgent, immediate thing" is to support Ukraine so that it defends its sovereignty for independence.

The Secretary General of NATO repeatedly stressed during the communication with the press that the Alliance will continue to support Ukraine and at the upcoming summit they will agree on "a multi-year program to help Ukraine so that it moves towards NATO and is [as a result] fully compatible with the Alliance."

When asked "Do you adjust military support" depending on the "mutiny" of the leader of Wagner Group in Russia, Stoltenberg traditionally said that the allies "provided unprecedented support, and we are increasing it."

He added that over the past week, some member states announced new military aid packages and reported that they had "started training on the F-16."