New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in kyiv on Thursday, barely two days after taking office, to once again assure Ukraine of Western support as its forces struggle on the front.
The former Dutch Prime Minister met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky there.
Mr Rutte has been one of Ukraine’s most active supporters in Europe since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, and described as “Russophobic” by Moscow.
He notably spearheaded efforts to equip kyiv with F-16 fighter jets, a decision described as “historic” by Mr. Zelensky during a trip to the Netherlands.
It was also under Mark Rutte that the Netherlands signed an agreement for two billion euros in military assistance to Ukraine over 10 years.
As he began his first day at the head of NATO on Tuesday, the Dutchman made support for Ukraine one of the three priorities of his mandate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “must realize” that NATO will not “give in” in its support for kyiv, underlined Mark Rutte during his first press conference in Brussels.
This strong statement of support contrasts with growing calls in the West to open negotiations with Russia.
The question of the scale and sustainability of Western aid arises all the more as Ukraine is in its third year of war, particularly given the cost of this support and the risk of escalation of the conflict.
And the American position, the main donor of kyiv and driving force of NATO, risks changing radically if Donald Trump returns to the White House after the November presidential election.
– Membership of NATO –
“It is up to the Ukrainian government to decide when the time has come to discuss peace,” recalled Mr. Rutte upon taking office, calling for a “focus on the war effort.” “The more we help Ukraine, the sooner” the war “will end,” he insisted.
The Ukrainian president welcomed his arrival at the head of NATO, reminding him of his country’s objective: to join the Atlantic Alliance as a full member, which Moscow considers a threat.
“Ukraine’s place is in NATO,” assured Mr. Rutte on Tuesday, who will nevertheless have to arbitrate between Ukraine’s ambition and the strong reluctance of some of the organization’s 32 member countries, including the United States and Germany.
Mr. Rutte has already visited Ukraine several times as head of the Dutch government during the war, visiting not only kyiv but also Odessa (south), a key Black Sea port, and Kharkiv (north-east), second city in the country located near the Russian border and suffering almost daily air attacks.
A nighttime strike in Moscow left 11 injured, including a child, in the latter city, according to a new report announced Thursday by emergency services.
Mark Rutte’s trip comes at a very difficult time for Ukraine, whose forces lack recruits and weapons due to sluggish mobilization and more scattered Western deliveries.
– Lapel on the forehead –
Result: the Ukrainian army is losing ground in the East.
In the latest setback, it announced on Wednesday that it was withdrawing from Vougledar, a town of military and symbolic importance, located at the junction between the Eastern and Southern fronts and the subject of a fierce battle for more than two years.
The conquest of this city puts an end to the stability of this sector and also raises the question of the solidity of the Ukrainian defenses located beyond.
Its fall adds to the difficulties of the Ukrainians in other sectors, with Russian troops getting closer in particular to Pokrovsk, a key city for the logistics of kyiv’s forces.
Ukraine, for its part, launched a surprise attack on the Russian region of Kursk in August, advancing over some 1,000 km2, the first occupation of Russian soil by an enemy army since the Second World War.
kyiv believes that this offensive prevented major Russian attacks in the north of the country, the Russian army having redirected part of its efforts towards Kursk, but it does not appear to have substantially relieved Ukrainian forces in the east.
On the Russian side, four civilians were killed and 24 injured Thursday in Ukrainian strikes on the Belgorod region, neighboring that of Kursk and which is regularly bombarded, according to local authorities.
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