Ukraine's victory plan welcomed by defense ministers of several NATO countries
Kyiv • UNN
The defense ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Estonia, and Sweden supported Ukraine's Victory Plan. They called for increased support for Kyiv and acceleration of Ukraine's movement toward NATO membership.
The defense ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Estonia, and Sweden welcomed the Victory Plan presented by Ukrainian President Volodymyr. The European officials called for maximizing support for Kyiv and accelerating Ukraine's movement toward NATO membership. They stated this while speaking to journalists on October 17 before a meeting in Brussels, UNN reports with reference to Voice of America.
Details
Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said that “we support the Victory Plan. We believe that Ukraine must defeat the aggressor country. It is important for all of us”. He also added that it is now necessary to discuss the details of how Ukraine can quickly complete its “irreversible” path to NATO membership.
According to Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurinas Kasciunas, Ukraine should receive an invitation to join NATO “now.” “I would extend (the invitation) - yes, absolutely,” Kasčunas said, answering journalists' questions.
He clarified that an invitation to join the Alliance is not the same as membership, but it does make the process of joining truly irreversible.
“The invitation is the first step, but this is a real irreversibility, a point of no return,” Kasciunas said. - “If you want to push the Russians away from NATO territory, even from the idea of testing NATO, the best way to do it is to support Ukraine by all means.
British Defense Secretary John Healey has stated the need to increase support for Ukraine in the coming months. “We must do everything we can to increase our support for Ukraine in the weeks and months ahead, to put more pressure on Russia to ensure that Ukraine can win, because the defense of Europe begins in Ukraine,” Healy said.
“We are committed to supporting them for as long as it takes,” he added.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur noted that Estonia hopes for actions and further steps on Ukraine's path to NATO membership.
“Estonia has always said that the only real guarantee of security for Ukraine is NATO membership,” Pevkur said.
According to Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson, Stockholm “welcomes” Zelenskyy's “victory plan” and will discuss it, but Ukraine's membership in the Alliance is not possible at this time. However, Sweden will continue to support Kyiv.
Addendum Addendum
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that Ukraine will join the Alliance in the future - as its 33rd or 34th member. He said this before a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Thursday.
