Politico's article notes that Ukrainian leaders were mostly satisfied with the results of the anniversary NATO summit in Washington.
Points of attention
- Ukrainian leaders were satisfied with the results of the NATO summit in Washington, although they did not get everything they expected.
- NATO recognised the prospect of Ukraine's membership as inevitable and strengthened the declaration, which will positively affect the country.
- Ukraine continues to call on its Western partners to increase the supply of fighters and air defence systems to increase defence capabilities.
- The newly created NATO command in Germany coordinates the flow of weapons to Ukraine and supports the delivery of aid.
- European and American diplomats were satisfied with the formulation that brought Ukraine closer to NATO.
How NATO's promises soothed Ukraine's concerns
The publication notes that Ukraine did not get everything it expected, but NATO members recognized the prospect of membership as inevitable and improved the declaration, which infuriated Kyiv following last year's summit in Vilnius.
At the same time, Ukraine continues to call on its Western partners to increase the number of fighter jets and air defence systems planned for transfer, as well as to speed up the training of Ukrainian pilots and expand the permission to use Western weapons for strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation.
There was no chance that Kyiv would be officially invited to become the 33rd member of the Alliance during the summit in Washington. Kyiv was immediately informed that there would be no invitation. But Ukraine received a promise resulting from months of wrangling within the Alliance.
Ukraine needs a significantly more significant number of Western air defence systems complexes.
The most important thing for Ukraine right now is that we are sending ammunition to it, and we are also lifting restrictions on the use by the US and other allies of provided weapons, such as long-range missiles, inside Russia. When it comes to the specific wording of Ukraine's possible accession to NATO, everyone knows that it won't happen instantly anyway, so I don't think we should spend too much time thinking about the wording, — emphasises the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Elina Valtonen.
Following the results of the NATO summit in Washington, European and American diplomats were satisfied with the wording, allowing Ukraine to get closer to NATO.
I understand the ambitions of Ukraine and the desire of Ukraine to become a full member of NATO, but they must also look realistically at the current situation. They are in full scale war right now, so I think the wording when the time is right is fine, although I would like to see Ukraine in NATO tomorrow. Let's be realistic, — emphasizes the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavski.
What NATO says about the situation in Ukraine's war against the Russian Federation
According to Ukrainian analysts, after the provision of new aid to Ukraine from the USA and EU countries, the advantage of the occupation army of the Russian Federation over the Ukrainian military in terms of the number of artillery ammunition decreased from 20 to 1 in winter to — 5:1.
This week's summit also established a new NATO command in Germany. This command will coordinate the flow of arms to Ukraine and ensure faster delivery of promised weapons, adding a much-needed coordination function to the often one-off nature of commitments between the countries.
The alliance will also place an ambassador in Kyiv, bringing the country closer under the NATO umbrella, even without formal membership.
On the initiative of the Czech Republic regarding the supply of artillery ammunition to Ukraine, Kyiv receives up to 50,000 shells from European partners every month.
Half a million pieces of artillery ammunition are expected to be handed over by the end of this year.
Ukraine will continue to receive the supplies and weapons it needs for its defense from the West. I think they managed to stabilize the front, but obviously the war will remain in a stalemate until the end of this year — this is what we expect — a high-ranking European diplomat said in a comment to journalists of the publication.
Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations this week, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed her disappointment that the alliance had moved too slowly and imposed restrictions on using defence aid that hurt Ukrainian forces.
Another NATO diplomat expressed similar frustration with the restrictions the Biden administration has imposed on Ukraine, noting that while "the Ukrainians now have a lot of advantages with the Army's tactical missile systems, and they will degrade Russian capabilities, it is unlikely that this will lead to any breakthrough, especially if they are blocked from using these weapons against Russian military targets inside Russia."
