NATO member states are “firmly on track” to fulfill their promise of 40 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine by 2024, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said today, distancing himself from the “plan to victory” presented earlier today by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Rutte told a press conference that Alliance members have so far collected about half of the promised funding.
“I am pleased to report that we are firmly on track to deliver the 40 billion euros we promised for next year”, highlighted the head of NATO, adding: “I can announce today that NATO allies have allocated 20.9 thousand million euros in military aid to Ukraine. in the first half of 2024 and the Allies are on track to meet their commitments for the rest of the year.” At the same time, he stressed that the new NATO mission in Ukraine, in the German city of Wiesbaden, will be in readiness “fully operational ” in the coming months.
Earlier today, Zelensky revealed in a speech to Parliament his “plan for victory” in the war with Russia and, among other things, ruled out the possibility of ceding territory to Russia to end the war.
Rutte stressed that the “victory plan” presented by the Ukrainian leader is a good sign, but stressed that he is not in a position to support this plan in its entirety in the current situation.
“Of course, it is a strong message from Zelensky and his team that they have drawn up this plan… This does not mean that here I can say that I support the plan as a whole, that would be a little difficult because there are many issues that we need understand better,” he said.
As I said, this Ukrainian “victory plan” will be on the agenda of the NATO ministerial meeting that begins tomorrow Thursday in Brussels. “It will be on the table (…) when the NATO/Ukraine summit takes place on Thursday night”, said the new head of NATO.
Citing an excerpt from Zelensky’s speech that Ukrainian intelligence services confirmed North Korea’s supply of weapons and personnel to Russia, Rutte said NATO could not confirm reports that North Koreans were fighting alongside Russian forces. in Ukraine, but noted that these reports are alarming.
He reiterated the position that the process of Ukraine becoming a future member of the Alliance is “irreversible” and that Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever.
Source: AMPE