Ukraine to push for air defenses and strategic membership decision at NATO summit
Kyiv plans to synchronize its efforts with NATO and seek military support from the alliance at the upcoming NATO summit in Washington on July 9-11, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva said in an interview with NV on July 4.
"A strong political decision at the summit is important for us. Ukraine's strategic goal remains full NATO membership," he said, acknowledging the need for consensus among member states and meeting security conditions.
"But this does not mean we cannot continue our movement towards NATO, including achieving interoperability on the battlefield. We expect such fair decisions."
Work is underway on the wording of the final summit documents on Ukraine. There will be at least two of them: a general summary of the NATO summit and a statement by the NATO-Ukraine Commission.
Kyiv will seek practical decisions at the summit and additional military aid from NATO, particularly in the form of air defense systems, according to Zhovkva.
"We want to secure a number of practical decisions from the summit to provide appropriate equipment and weapons. The President has repeatedly talked about additional air defense systems. We are working on this with our partners. The NATO summit will be another opportunity to synchronize our efforts with NATO member states on air defense," he said.
On July 5, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed hope that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance within the next decade. He called for increased military aid to Kyiv ahead of the NATO summit in Washington, expressing confidence that Putin is employing delaying tactics in hopes of weakening Western support for Ukraine.
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