NATO countries reaffirm support for Ukraine, cite long-term threat from Russia — summit communiqué
NATO member states adopted a final communiqué on June 25 at
their summit in The Hague, pledging sustained support for Ukraine through
direct defense contributions, according to a document obtained by NV
correspondent Nataliia Rop.
“Allies reaffirm their enduring sovereign commitments to
provide support to Ukraine, whose security contributes to ours, and, to this
end, will include direct contributions towards Ukraine’s defence and its
defence industry when calculating Allies’ defence spending,” the communiqué
stated.
The document also reaffirmed NATO’s “ironclad commitment” to
collective defense as outlined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which
guarantees protection for the alliance’s one billion citizens.
The bloc acknowledged a “long- term threat posed by Russia
to Euro-Atlantic security,” along with the ongoing threat of terrorism. In
response, NATO countries committed to increasing their annual defense spending
to 5% of GDP by 2035.
Under the plan, at least 3.5% of GDP will be allocated to
core defense needs, while 1.5% will go toward protecting critical
infrastructure, networks, and civil preparedness.
The communiqué also includes commitments to expanding
transatlantic defense-industrial cooperation and leveraging new technologies to
strengthen collective security.
The next NATO summit is scheduled to take place in Türkiye
in 2026, followed by a summit in Albania.
The June 24–25 summit in The Hague marked the first held
under the leadership of Mark Rutte, the alliance’s new secretary-general and
former Dutch prime minister. According to media speculation, the Middle East
was expected to be the central topic of the gathering.
On June 25, Rutte announced that Ukraine would be “a major
topic” on the second day of the summit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who also arrived in
The Hague, was not invited to the closed-door NATO leaders’ meeting. However, Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that a mini-summit was being arranged for
Zelenskyy on June 25 with the leaders of France, Germany, Poland, Italy, the
United Kingdom, and NATO’s secretary-general. He is also expected to meet with
U.S. President Donald Trump.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
