Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticized NATO for not setting a clear timeline on his country’s bid to join the military alliance, even as its chief, Jens Stoltenberg said he will push for a fast-track process for Kyiv.
NATO notched a significant breakthrough — just hours before the start of a two-day summit in Vilnius — when Turkey agreed to stop blocking Sweden’s bid to join and allies then agreed a fast-track process for Ukraine’s membership, but only once “conditions are met.”
US President Joe Biden will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later Tuesday, when the two will likely discuss Turkey’s request to purchase F-16s. He also plans to meet with Zelenskiy.
Latest Coverage:
- NATO to Offer Ukraine Fast Path to Join When Conditions Met
- G-7 Nations to Give Individual Security Pledges to Ukraine
- Turkey Agrees to Back Sweden’s NATO Bid in Boost to Alliance
- Europe Can’t Supply Ukraine With Weapons Fast Enough, Here’s Why
All times local in Vilnius, CET + 1 hour:
Dutch Cabinet’s Collapse Won’t Change Plans on F-16s (6:30 p.m.)
The Dutch government’s abrupt collapse last week won’t change the country’s plans to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine once pilot training has been completed, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Netherlands and Denmark are leading the coalition to prepare the pilots, with the support of the UK and Belgium. The Dutch government is already looking into and discussing with its allies possible deployment plans. Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte has pledged that his caretaker cabinet will continue to support Ukraine in its military response to Russia’s invasion. He spoke on Saturday with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Read More: Dutch Premier Rutte Quits After Migration Clash Splits Coalition
NATO Offers Cautious Optimism on Ukraine’s Counteroffensive (5:35 p.m.)
Ukraine holds the initiative across most of front line as Russian forces are stretched and lack artillery ammunition, a NATO official told reporters in Vilnius.
Russia continues to build up its defensive lines in rear areas, especially near occupied Crimea as it expects Ukraine may attack there, the official told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.
Both sides are suffering high casualties with Russian losses likely at highest point since the peak of battle for Ukrainian town of Bakhmut in eastern Donetsk region, the official said.
Cluster Munitions Will Help Ukraine Save Ammunition, NATO Official Says (5:35 p.m.)
Cluster munitions will reduce the need for Ukrainians to expend artillery ammunition, which is in short supply by having bomblets spread across a targeted area, a NATO official said.
The munitions, especially the reliable American version, are effective in targeting airfields but also military personnel in trenches and will also help Ukraine to get rid of obstacles like mines, a NATO official told journalists in Vilnius.
US President Joe Biden agreed this month to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, fulfilling a request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy despite concern from arms control groups and human rights activists about the potential harm to civilians.
France to Supply Long-Range Missiles to Ukraine, Macron Says (3:13 p.m.)
President Emmanuel Macron said France will increase its delivery of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine, including long-range SCALP missiles with deep-strike capacity.
The decision has been taken to boost Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive, Macron told reporters without elaborating on the timing or volume of the deliveries. SCALP is a cruise missile developed by France and the UK in the 1990s and has a range of more than 250 kilometers.
Kremlin Warns NATO on Ukraine, Sweden Membership (1:50 p.m.)
Ukraine’s potential entry into NATO would be “very dangerous for European security,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to the state-run Tass news service.
Peskov also said Russia would take unspecified measures in response to Sweden’s membership of the military alliance, which he said had “negative consequences” for Russian security. At the same time, he said, Russia recognized Turkey’s obligations to NATO in backing Sweden’s membership, adding that Moscow and Ankara would continue to cooperate in areas of common interest despite disagreements on other matters.
President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was intended in part to prevent NATO expansion toward Russia’s borders. Instead, Finland and Sweden reacted by seeking membership and NATO allies have delivered billions of dollars of weapons to Ukraine.
Zelenskiy Slams NATO for Soft Language on Membership (1:15 p.m.)
Zelenskiy issued an emotional warning ahead of his arrival in Vilnius that he has received indications that NATO allies are mulling a summit outcome that won’t endorse Ukraine’s membership bid strongly enough or set a timeline.
“This looks like there’s neither readiness to invite Ukraine to NATO nor make it a member of the alliance,” Zelenskiy wrote in the statement posted on Twitter and Telegram. He said that such an “unprecedented and absurd” outcome leaves an opportunity to make Ukraine’s NATO membership bid a trading chip in potential negotiations with Russia.
Russia’s war effectively puts a block on NATO membership for Ukraine, since extending the bloc’s collective defense commitments to Kyiv would bring the US and its allies into direct conflict with Russia.
Biden told reporters that the US agrees with language proposed by Stoltenberg “relative to the future of Ukraine being able to join NATO.”
Sweden Says NATO Ratification Can Be Completed in Days or Weeks
Sweden expects Turkey and Hungary to ratify its application to join NATO shortly, and not wait until their parliaments reconvene this fall, foreign minister Tobias Billstrom said, after the Nordic country signed an agreement with Turkey paving the way for full membership in the alliance.
“Turkey’s and Hungary’s parliaments can ratify within days or weeks,” Billstrom said in an interview in Vilnius. “We have a clear agreement that this will be done as soon as possible, and as soon as possible obviously doesn’t mean this fall.”
UK’s Sunak Says Ukraine Membership Not Matter for Now (12:45 p.m.)
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that while NATO allies are keen to make progress on Ukraine’s membership of the military bloc, it’s “not a question for right now.”
“What’s important at this summit is that commitment is reaffirmed and also that there is demonstrable progress towards that goal,” Sunak told reporters traveling with him to Lithuania for the NATO meeting.
“I think the Ukrainians themselves — and the defense minister has said — that is not a question for right now while they are in the middle of a conflict,” he added.
Germany Unveils €700 Million Arms Package (12 a.m.)
Germany announced an additional package of military equipment for Ukraine worth about €700 million ($770 million), including 25 Leopard 1 battle tanks, 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, two launchers for the Patriot air-defense system and 20,000 artillery rounds.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government was already the second biggest contributor of military aid to Ukraine, with pledges totaling €7.5 billion through May 31, according to data compiled by the Kiel Institute. The US tops the list with more than €40 billion.
Stoltenberg Proposes Fast-Track Membership Process for Ukraine (11:35 a.m.)
When the time comes, NATO would put Ukraine on a faster track to join the alliance than is typically required under a plan proposed by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The streamlined plan would remove the requirement for a so-called membership action plan to prepare the country for joining, Stoltenberg said Tuesday in Vilnius.
“This will turn the membership program process for Ukraine from a two-step process to a one-step process,” he said.
Finland Wants Smooth Path for Ukraine to Join (10:10 a.m.)
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen welcomed the breakthrough between Turkey and Sweden as a “huge deal” for Sweden, Finland and the alliance as a whole, adding that “the Baltic, the high North and the Arctic region all benefit from this.”
NATO allies are also set to provide Ukraine with a package of long-term support, including more concrete language about its membership prospects. “Finland’s position is that it’s important that we make the process for Ukraine as smooth as possible,” Valtonen said in an interview on the sidelines of the summit.
She said her country will help Ukraine to meet the criteria for membership, on the military side but also in areas related to society and democracy.
Stoltenberg Says Ammunition Remains a Challenge (9:55 a.m.)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said more allies are signing new contracts to boost the supply of key military items — with allies making the biggest new investments in defense in decades — and production is gradually increasing.
“There is a challenge on Ukraine running low of ammunition,” he said in Vilnius.
Hungary Is Ready to Ratify Sweden’s NATO Bid (9:45 a.m.)
Hungary supports Sweden’s NATO accession and it remains a “technical matter” to close the lengthy ratification process in the parliament in Budapest, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Tuesday.
Szijjarto said last week that Hungary will back Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance once Turkey, the other holdout, gives a sign that it’s also ready to do so. Turkey has now given such a signal, though Szijjarto didn’t explicitly refer to that in his Facebook post on his departure for the NATO summit in Vilnius.
“It’s a purely technical matter to close the ratification process now,” Szijjarto said.
UK Signs Defense Contract With BAE Systems (9:31 a.m.)
The UK has signed a new £190 million ($245 million) contact with BAE Systems PLC to produce more artillery shells for use by Britain and its allies. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday will confirm that the UK’s production capacity of 155mm artillery ammunition has increased eight-fold, allowing it to replenish its stockpiles due to the injection of an extra £5 billion in funding over the last year.
Sunak will push for further joint NATO efforts to increase shared capacity of missile and ammunition production at the summit in Vilnius, according to a UK government statement.
Biden Looks to Move Forward With F-16 Sale to Turkey (9:05 a.m.)
The US will progress with Turkey’s request to purchase F-16s, according to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. US President Joe Biden will meet with Erdogan later Tuesday.
“Biden has been clear and unequivocal — for months he supported the transfer of F-16s,” Sulllivan told reporters on Tuesday. “He has placed no caveats or conditions on that and he intends to move forward.”
Congress must approve significant U.S. arms sales to foreign allies and a bipartisan group of senators had told Biden earlier this year that lawmakers shouldn’t consider the $20 billion sale of warplanes until the country ratifies Sweden’s membership.
Back in Washington, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Robert Menendez, one of the biggest holdouts, appeared to be softening his position on Monday when quizzed by journalists. He said “there may be a path forward” in the “next week.”
Turkey Says It Will Back Sweden’s NATO Accession (9:05 a.m.)
Turkey agreed to support Sweden’s NATO bid in a major breakthrough for the military alliance’s push to strengthen its defenses following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey will ask its parliament to advance Sweden’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization “as soon as possible,” alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Monday in Vilnius.
“Completing Sweden’s accession to NATO is a historic step that benefits the security of all NATO allies at this critical time,” Stoltenberg said in Vilnius. “I will not give you the exact dates for that. But this is a clear commitment.”
US Says NATO to Agree to Boost Defense Spending (9:05 a.m.)
NATO leaders will agree to strengthen the alliance’s goal for defense spending, as countries prioritize revitalizing an industry that has been neglected for years.
“We will agree 2% should be a floor, not a ceiling,” Sullivan told reporters in Vilnius Tuesday, adding that the US and allies will agree to spend more.
--With assistance from Justin Sink, Daryna Krasnolutska, Kitty Donaldson, Niclas Rolander, Andra Timu, Tony Halpin, Daniel Flatley, Arne Delfs, Aliaksandr Kudrytski, Selcan Hacaoglu, Samy Adghirni, Ania Nussbaum and Cagan Koc.
Author: Natalia Drozdiak, Milda Seputyte and Jennifer Jacobs
