NATO Summit in Vilnius will take into account course of Ukrainian counteroffensive - Feygin

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"Since December last year, there has been talk of a major offensive by Russian troops. And when Gerasimov came in January, they said: that's it, they will show it now. How did it end? In this situation, the Russians need to prove that the Ukrainians will not be able to attack either. That the Ukrainian Armed Forces will not be able to launch a large-scale counteroffensive, but only take some villages, and it will all be over within a month or even a week. But the allies are helping Ukraine, and it is important for Putin to show ideologically, publicly, and politically that not only the Russian army is incapable of an offensive, because it has achieved nothing with its offensive, but that the Ukrainian side will not be able to attack either. And then negotiations and truce are the only options," Feygin noted.

According to the opposition leader, Ukraine has between 70,000 and 100,000 trained, armed and heavy weapons reserves.

"Ukraine really has reserves. We assume that 3 army corps of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been formed. According to various estimates, there are between 70,000 and 100,000 trained, armed, and heavily armed reserves of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which means that if they have not yet been used on the most important directions, on the border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, where the Ukrainian Armed Forces are making good progress, then everything is still ahead. Let me remind you that a NATO summit will be held in July, which will take into account the progress of this counteroffensive. And Putin now needs to prove that no one is able to advance, that what Russia has captured, let Russia have it," Feygin added.

• A meeting of NATO countries will happen in Vilnius in July. Ukraine hopes to receive clear decisions about joining the Alliance. On May 23, Ukraine's ambassador to NATO, Natalia Galibarenko, mentioned that Ukraine is preparing two cooperation packages (political and practical), which will be presented for discussion during the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius. 

• On May 30, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba outlined three key points that define Ukraine's vision for a successful outcome at the NATO summit in Vilnius. "Strengthen Ukraine-NATO institutional ties and assistance. Take a step toward UA membership. Provide security guarantees on Ukraine’s path to NATO." 

  On June 10, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister, Volodymyr Havrylov, expressed his belief that the July NATO summit in Vilnius  will set the algorithm for Ukraine's accession to the Alliance.

  NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that Ukraine will become a NATO member in the future, but due to the ongoing war, specific dates for accession cannot be determined. However, he is confident that during the Vilnius summit, the member countries will work towards finding a solution regarding Ukraine's progress.

  On June 15, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for Ukraine's membership in NATO with 425 votes in favor.

  On June 16, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on NATO chief Stoltenberg to drop the MAP if Ukraine joins NATO.

  CNN, citing an informed source, reported that US President Joe Biden supports Ukraine's accession to NATO without MAP.