Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, alongside his wife Olena, greets the audience at the “Raising the Flag” event, Vilnius, Lithuania, July 11, 2023 (Antara)

EA on UK Media: Biden, Britain, and the NATO Summit

Tuesday’s Coverage: Turkey Lifts Blockade of Sweden’s NATO Accession

Map: Institute for Study of War

UPDATE 1808 GMT:

Before his meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskiy, US counterpart Joe Biden said a press appearance that he understood the Ukrainian President’s frustration at not given necessary assistance quickly enough.

I promise you the US is doing everything we can to get you what you need.

I look forward to the day when we’re having the meeting celebrating your official, official membership in NATO.

UPDATE 1804 GMT:

At his press conference in Vilnius, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said:

I believe we will be in NATO when the security situation is stabilized. That means when the war is finished, Ukraine will definitely be invited to NATO and we will definitely become a member nation of the alliance. I haven’t heard any other opinion today.

UPDATE 1759 GMT:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, having lifting his blockade on Sweden’s accession to NATO, has said that the ratification bill will not be presented to Parliament until the autumn

Erdoğan said that, before the ratification, Sweden will provide a road map for Turkey about the steps it will take against “terrorism”.

UPDATE 1456 GMT:

Russian shelling has killed an 81-year-old man and wounded his 82-year-old wife in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.

UPDATE 1324 GMT:

The G7 nations — Canada, the US, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, and the UK — have issued their declaration of long-term security and economic support for Ukraine.

The statement pledges to ensure a sustainable force capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring Russian aggression in the future. This will be accomplished through provision of modern military equipment for land, air, and sea; intelligence sharing; and the training of Ukrainian forces.

Support for economic stability and resilience, including reconstruction and recovery, will create the conditions for economic prosperity and energy security.

The declaration recognizes “the need for the establishment of an international mechanism for reparation of damages, loss or injury caused by Russian aggression”.

Technical and financial support will not only deal with the challenges of the invasion but also help implementation of a “reform agenda” and “the good governance necessary to advance towards [Ukraine’s] Euro-Atlantic aspirations”.

The reform agenda will “underscore [Kyiv’s] commitments to democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and media freedoms”; put the economy on a “sustainable path”; and strengthen “democratic civilian control of the military”.

If there is a future Russian military attack, the G7 will provide Ukraine with “swift and sustained security assistance”, including modern military equipment, and economic assistance as well as imposing costs on Moscow.

UPDATE 1313 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has issued a statement about Kyiv’s path to NATO accession, calling for “certainty”.

Zelenskiy welcomed the new NATO-Ukraine Council and the waiver of the Membership Action Plan, cutting years off the process for accession.

However, he called for “effective security guarantees” and “specifics” about the conditions for Ukraine’s membership.

UPDATE 1241 GMT:

Iran’s Supreme Leader has supported the propaganda lines of the Kremlin by blaming the West, rather than Russia’s invasion, for the mass killing of Ukrainians.

UPDATE 1059 GMT:

At his joint press conference with NATO head Jens Stoltenberg, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy summarized differences over Tuesday’s presentation of the future relationship between Kyiv and the bloc.

Zelenskiy said it is “understandable that Ukraine cannot join NATO when at war”, but the ideal would have been an explicit invitation for Kyiv to accede.

Responding to Stoltenberg’s statement that the “most urgent task now is to ensure Ukraine has enough weapons”, Zelenskiy said, “Ukraine needs long-range weapons, this deficit is still there”.

UPDATE 1029 GMT:

Alongside Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at a joint press conference, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has set out the arrangements to bring “Ukraine closer to NATO”.

The plan includes the new NATO-Ukraine Council, reaffirmation that Ukraine will become a member of the bloc, and accelerating the process of accession by removing the requirement for a Membership Action Plan.

Stoltenberg said, “We must ensure that when this war ends, there are credible arrangements in place for Ukraine’s security which will help deter any future aggression from Russia after this war ends.”

UPDATE 0950 GMT:

After seeing Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Canberra’s new package of military assistance will include 30 Bushmaster armored vehicles.

Zelenskiy is now meeting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

UPDATE 0856 GMT:

Following a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has thanked Berlin for its latest commitment of military assistance, including launchers and missiles for Patriot anti-aircraft systems.

I am grateful for Germany’s readiness for long-term, long-term support of Ukraine and our defence of freedom. Long-term support programmes are the best signal to everyone in the world that our Europe will remain a space of security and peace.

Zelenskiy is now meeting UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and began the day with a discussion with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

UPDATE 0851 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has posted the “three priorities” for the second day of the NATO summit.

The first is new support packages for our army on the battlefield.

The second, I believe, is an invitation to NATO. We need your understanding that we have this invitation for when the security situation allows it.

We want to discuss all these things with our partners.

And thirdly, today we will discuss security guarantees for Ukraine on the way to NATO.

UPDATE 0846 GMT:

Sweden — soon to become the 32nd member of NATO — and Ukraine have confirmed their cooperation on military procurement.

Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced the completion of the deal.

UPDATE 0731 GMT:

Russian military official and submarine commander Capt. Stanislav Rzhitsky, assassinated this week in the city of Krasnodar in southwest Russia, reportedly broke operational security by posting details of his jogging route.

Rzhitsky, who coincidentally commanded the “Krasnodar” submarine, was shot four times in the back and chest during his morning run. He died immediately.

The submarine was involved in Kalibr cruise missile attacks on Ukraine, including a strike killing 23 civilians in Vinnytsia in west-central Ukraine on July 14, 2022.

UPDATE 0642 GMT:

The Deputy Commander of Russia’s Southern Military District, Lt. Gen. Oleg Tsokov, has reportedly been killed in a Ukrainian strike with a UK-made Storm Shadow missile.

The missile hit the command post of Russia’s 58th Combined Arms Army the port city of Berdyansk in southern Ukraine.

Russian military bloggers and Ukrainian sources both reported Tsokov’s death on Tuesday.

The commander was wounded in late September by a Ukrainian strike on Svatove in the Luhansk region in the east of the country.

UPDATE 0611 GMT:

Russia has launched attack drones on the Kyiv region for the second night in a row.

The Ukraine military said 11 of 15 Iranian-made Shahed drones were intercepted, with no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

Early Tuesday, Ukraine’s air defenses intercepted 26 of 28 drones.

The two that evaded air defenses caused damage in Odesa in the south of the country, hitting the administration building of a port facility. A fire in two port terminals was extinguished without “critical damage” or injuries.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: NATO has set out an accelerated process for Ukraine’s membership as soon as the Russian invasion is defeated.

In the first day of its summit in Vilnius, the 31 — soon to be 32, with the accession of Sweden — nations published a communiqué which renewed NATO’s 2008 embrace of Ukrainian candidacy.

Even more importantly, the bloc waived the requirement for a Membership Action Plan, which can take several years for a candidate nation to complete.

The waiver puts Ukraine in the same position as Finland, which formally joined NATO on April 4, and Sweden, whose membership is imminent after Turkey and Hungary lifted their blockades this week.

Both Finland and Sweden applied for membership in May 2022 and were immediately put on a fast track for accession.

The communiqué summarized:

We fully support Ukraine’s right to choose its own security arrangements. Ukraine’s future is in Nato. We reaffirm the commitment we made at the 2008 Summit in Bucharest that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, and today we recognize that Ukraine’s path to full Euro-Atlantic integration has moved beyond the need for the Membership Action Plan.

The 31 nations noted that “Ukraine has become increasingly interoperable and politically integrated” with NATO, and praised “substantial progress on its reform path”. NATO Foreign Ministers “will regularly assess progress and will support Ukraine in making necessary “reforms on its path towards future membership”.

The statement concluded, “We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance when allies agree and conditions are met.”

Throughout Tuesday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy lobbied for an even stronger commitment from the bloc. He said:

I would like [my faith in NATO] to become confidence – confidence in the decisions that we deserve, that all of us deserve, and that every warrior, every citizen, every mother, every child expects. And is that too much to expect?

NATO will give Ukraine security. Ukraine will make the Alliance stronger.

The President asked for a specific timeline for accession.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg responded:

There has never been a stronger message from Nato at any time, both when it comes to the political message of the path forward for membership and the concrete support from NATO allies.

If you look at all the membership processes, there have not been timelines for those processes. They are conditions-based, have always been.

Zelenskiy will have bilateral discussions today with leaders of NATO countries, including US President Joe Biden. He will also be involved in the inaugural session of the NATO-Ukraine Council.

NATO members are expected to make a series of commitment to increased military support for Kyiv amid its counter-offensive to liberate territory from Russian occupation.

Germany confirmed that it is preparing a €700 million ($770 million) military aid package for Ukraine, including two Patriot launcher missile systems, 40 Marder armored vehicles, 25 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks, and five Bergepanzer 2 armored recovery vehicles.

France confirmed the supply of long-range SCALP missiles, with a range of more than 155 miles. The commitment follows the UK’s provision of its version of SCALP, Storm Shadow, in May.

Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced a further $960 million in aid to Ukraine, citing the “urgent need of additional military support and equipment”.

The Norwegian Government pledged more than $7.2 billion in civilian and military aid over five years, as well as $144,000 “to support Ukraine’s reform efforts”.

A coalition of 11 nations said on Tuesday that it will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets in August, with centers established in Denmark and Romania.

Ukraine is still awaiting the first commmitment to supply the F-16s.