Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that the security of NATO’s eastern flank depends on Ukraine. On the eve of the NATO meeting in Vilnius, which will begin tomorrow, the Ukrainian president said that his country is already a “de facto” member of the alliance, Sky News reports.

Zelensk has long been pushing for Kyiv to join NATO since the start of the full-scale invasion.

“We are working on making the membership algorithm as clear and fast as possible,” he added.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi will personally attend the NATO summit in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the latest program published by the North Atlantic Alliance on Monday, the Spanish EFE news agency reports.

According to the summit program, Zelensky is invited to a dinner at the Presidential Palace with 31 allied countries on Tuesday, which will also be attended by the leaders of Sweden, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, as well as the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian president will hold a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, after which they will hold a press conference.

He will then take part in the first Ukraine-NATO Council, an “equal” meeting, thanks to which both sides will improve their political relations.

During the summit, the allies will support Ukraine in the face of Russia’s aggressive war and make decisions they hope will bring Kyiv closer to NATO, while not considering joining.

In particular, they will increase their support through a multi-year program that will encourage the transition from Soviet-era military equipment to modern equipment used by the Atlantic alliance to improve interoperability between the two sides.

In addition, the allies are discussing the possibility of removing the requirement for Ukraine to comply with the Accession Action Plan (AAP), thereby simplifying Kyiv’s path to NATO membership.

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