DrHeads of state and government of NATO countries will meet in Lithuania on Tuesday to discuss closer cooperation with Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to be a guest at the two-day summit. So far there has been no consensus in the military coalition to invite Ukraine to join Zelensky. The United States and the federal government believe that this is premature while the war continues.
As a sign of rapprochement, a new NATO-Ukraine Council will be created, which is scheduled to meet with Zelensky for the first time. In addition, more military and security commitments are expected from NATO countries. “Our weapons are the weapons of the Alliance. Our values are what Allianz believes in,” Zelensky emphasized in his evening video address. The summit meeting must confirm that Ukraine is a de facto member of the military alliance. The Ukrainian President will meet his US counterpart Joe Biden in Vilnius, will he be able to change his mind?
According to Polish President Andrzej Duda, there will be no starting signal for Ukraine to join the alliance at the summit. I do not think that Ukraine will formally receive an invitation to NATO. „The invitation is a decisive step towards membership,” Duda said in an interview conducted jointly with WELT, „Bild” and „Politico”. However, the Polish president explained: „I would be grateful if such a decision was made.”
All developments in the live stream:
07:44 Ukraine: Repelling an air strike on Kiev
According to Ukrainian reports, shortly before the start of the NATO summit, Russia attacked Kyiv with drones overnight. This is the second air strike on Kiev this month, the Kyiv military department said on the online Telegram service. The attack by Iranian-designed drones caused little damage, and all air targets detected in the direction of Kiev were destroyed.
The Ukrainian military did not initially say how many drones were involved in the attack. No information was provided about possible victims. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the wreckage of the drones was found in the Ukrainian capital region. Windows and extensions of houses were damaged.
According to the local administration, the port city of Odessa was attacked during the night. She added that the air defense was activated. At first, the administration did not provide any additional information. An air alert was also reported in the Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kirovograd, Poltava, Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
03:53 – Russia is outraged by NATO’s solidarity with Ukraine
Russia is alarmed by the expected solidarity with Ukraine at the NATO summit. „Everything is being done to prepare domestic public opinion for approval of the anti-Russian decisions that will be taken in Vilnius in the coming days,” Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov wrote on the Telegram channel in Washington. With the expected decisions, the United States led NATO into a „worst case” confrontation with Moscow.
02:29 – Britain increases ammunition production
Against the background of deliveries to Ukraine, Great Britain is expanding the production capacity of artillery shells. The British government announced that the arms company BAE Systems has received new orders worth about 222 million euros. Most NATO armies have used this ammunition as standard. The deal with BAE will create 100 new jobs at sites in England and Wales. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will also announce at the NATO summit in Lithuania that Britain’s production capacity of 155mm artillery ammunition will increase eightfold.
9:50 p.m. – Seven dead in attack on relief center
Ukrainian sources reported that seven people were killed in a Russian attack on a relief center in a school in southern Ukraine. Local governor Yuri Malashko said in online networks that three women aged 43, 45, 47 and a 47-year-old man died instantly. Rescue services said the bodies of three other victims were later found under the rubble. The death toll has risen to seven.
9:33pm – Stoltenberg: Erdogan drops blockade on Sweden joining NATO
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is dropping his blockade against Sweden’s membership in the alliance. Stoltenberg said in a press conference held in Vilnius, in a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, that Erdogan agreed to submit the accession protocol to the Turkish Parliament as soon as possible.
7:30 p.m. – Joe Biden lands in Vilnius for the NATO summit with Air Force One.
US President Joe Biden has arrived in Lithuania on the eve of the NATO summit. Biden’s government plane, Air Force One, has landed in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. There, on Tuesday, the 80-year-old will meet the heads of state and government of 31 countries that are members of the Western military alliance to discuss issues such as the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression and stronger support for Ukraine.
Biden flew to Britain from the United States on Sunday, where he met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III on Monday. he met. And after the NATO summit, Biden will head to Helsinki, where a summit meeting with the heads of state and government of the Nordic countries is scheduled for Thursday. Finland is a member of NATO since April.
18:32 – NATO decides on regional plans for defense against Russian attack
According to diplomats, NATO partners have agreed on regional defense plans in the event of an attack by Russia. The dpa news agency and the Reuters news agency reported it in unison. The plans, which are more than 4,000 pages long, indicate how the coalition area will be protected from a possible Russian attack.
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