After President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hopes for a clear schedule for joining the alliance were shattered by NATO, Western countries will propose long-term security pledges for Ukraine on Wednesday.
A day after criticizing them for taking too long to bring Ukraine into the fold, Zelensky will hold symbolic discussions with the 31 leaders of NATO at their summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
The G7 nations are anticipated to make a statement outlining how they will support Kyiv in defeating Russia and thwarting future attacks in an effort to reassure the Ukrainian president.
“As Ukraine makes strategic progress in their counteroffensive … we are stepping up our formal arrangements to protect Ukraine for the long term,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement.
“We can never see a repeat of what has happened in Ukraine and this declaration reaffirms our commitment to ensure it is never left vulnerable to the kind of brutality Russia has inflicted on it again.”
The declaration will serve as a basis for further bilateral agreements between specific countries and Kiev that will specify the weaponry they would donate.
US Vice President Joe Biden has suggested a model for Ukraine that is comparable to the one under which Washington has committed to providing Israel with $3.8 billion in military assistance annually over a ten-year period.
