President Volodymyr Zelenskyi will not return to Ukraine from the NATO summit organized in Vilnius, even if he does not receive the commitment he wanted from the alliance regarding his country’s accession, writes Reuters.

The low-key communique of NATO leaders regarding Ukraine’s path to membership irritated Zelenskyi, who, however, acknowledged that overall the results of the summit were good.

In particular, he noted the fact that NATO’s recognition that Ukraine does not need to comply with the Accession Action Plan (AAP) is important and shows that his country has made significant progress in terms of compatibility with the North Atlantic Alliance.

The second day of the summit also saw the first meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council, a new format created to further strengthen cooperation between Kyiv and the 31-member Alliance.

NATO countries also expressed their readiness to support Ukraine “as long as it is necessary”, repeating the comments made by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and US President Joe Biden.

But 16 months after the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian delegation leaves the Vilnius summit with some tangible “reward” for the country’s military efforts.

French and British long-range armored missiles for the Ukrainian army

France has announced that it will follow the example of Great Britain and supply Ukraine with long-range missiles: “SCALP-EG” models, which can hit targets at a distance of up to 250 kilometers. These are identical to the British Storm Shadow missiles, but made for France.

A French military source said the missiles would come from the army’s existing stockpile and that it was a “significant number”.

Britain instead announced that it would provide the Ukrainian armed forces with 70 more combat and logistics vehicles, thousands of rounds of ammunition for Challenger 2 tanks, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had promised since the beginning of the year, as well as a £50 million equipment repair fund.

The British government also announced the launch of a project through NATO to build a medical rehabilitation center for the Ukrainian military.

Ukraine will receive new Patriot batteries from Germany and Norwegian nanodrones

As for Western military aircraft, which the leadership in Kyiv insists on, a coalition of 11 NATO member countries will begin training Ukrainian pilots on American F-16 aircraft from August, the training center of which will be opened in Romania.

Although a final decision on the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine has not yet been made, most analysts and diplomats see the training program as a definite step in that direction.

Germany has announced a new significant plan for military aid to Ukraine, the total cost of which reaches 700 million euros. This includes two Patriot batteries from the Bundeswehr, 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, a further 25 Leopard 1 tanks and 5 Bergenpanzer 2 tanks.

Ukraine now has two Patriot batteries, one from Germany, the other from the USA.

Norway also announced it would increase its military support to Ukraine by 2.5 billion kroner (about $239 million), bringing the total allocated to the government in Kyiv this year to 10 billion kroner, including promised humanitarian aid.

Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram explained that among the military equipment that will be sent to Ukraine are 1,000 unmanned aerial vehicles “Black Hornet” – a type of nanodrones designed to help soldiers in reconnaissance and surveillance of the airfield.

What NATO says after the summit in Vilnius

“We fully support Ukraine’s right to choose its own security mechanism. The future of Ukraine lies in NATO. We confirm the commitments we made at the Bucharest Summit in 2008, according to which Ukraine will become a member of NATO, and today we recognize that the country has already made sufficient progress towards full Euro-Atlantic integration, so that the action plan for accession in a statement signed by the member countries following the meeting.

“Ukraine has increased the level of operational interoperability and political interaction with the Alliance and has made significant progress on the path of reforms. In accordance with the 1997 Ukraine-NATO Charter on a Special Partnership and the 2009 Declaration supplementing this charter, the Alliance members will continue to support and monitor Ukraine’s progress on the path of interoperability and the continuation of democratic and security sector reforms,” ​​he continued.

“NATO Foreign Ministers will periodically assess the progress made within the framework of the annual Adapted National Programme. The Alliance will help Ukraine implement these reforms and advance on the path to future membership. We will be able to send Ukraine an invitation to join the Alliance after the Allies make this decision and the conditions are met,” the document says.

As for Georgia, the accession action plan remains an “integral part” of the accession process.

Regarding the Republic of Moldova, the Allies “affirm their commitment to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova within its internationally recognized borders and demand that Russia withdraw all forces it has deployed in Transnistria without the consent of the Republic of Moldova.” .

“We still firmly support the right of the Republic of Moldova to freely decide its future and the direction of its foreign policy without external interference, and we fully respect the country’s constitutional neutrality. “NATO is increasing its political and practical support to help the Republic of Moldova strengthen its capacity to resist and maintain its political independence in the face of a deteriorating security environment,” NATO leaders said.

“NATO will continue to provide practical assistance through the Enhanced Defense Capability Package as Moldova works to strengthen its security and defense capabilities and modernize its armed forces,” the statement added.

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