NATO Secretary General Rutte visits Ukraine, meets wounded soldiers

Rutte shared details of his visit on social media platform X.

"Today I visited Odesa along with President Zelenskyy. Ukraine’s people have endured so much - not least Russia’s Palm Sunday attack on Sumy," the post reads.

Rutte reassured Ukraine of NATO's unwavering support and emphasized that the Alliance will continue to assist Ukraine in defending itself today and deterring future aggression, ensuring a fair and lasting peace.

President Zelenskyy shared that together with NATO’s Secretary General, they also visited the hospital where Ukrainian defenders are recovering from their injuries.

"We spoke with the soldiers. I awarded the defenders with state decorations. I thank the guys for their strength, endurance, and for protecting our people," the message reads.

Zelenskyy added that he also honored combat medics, who not only help our soldiers in the hospital but also saved lives under fire in Kherson, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv regions.

Zelenskyy and Rutte discuss security of Ukraine and Europe

The President's Office reports.

Zelenskyy thanked Rutte for his unwavering support for Ukraine since the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion, when the NATO Secretary General was still the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. He emphasized that many important things had been achieved together.

Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine now has an urgent need for air defense systems and missiles for them, and Kyiv expects that all agreements with partners in Europe and America on air defense will be implemented.

“We talked about this a lot today. Everyone sees how important it is to maintain pressure on Russia for this war and in order to push Russia to be ready to really move forward in diplomacy,” the president said.

Rutte and Zelenskyy also discussed various formats of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO member states. The Head of State thanked for the continuation of the Ramstein format and emphasized the importance of its preservation and broad involvement of all partners.

They also discussed relations with the United States and the efforts of the American side in negotiations with Russia.

“For 35 days now, Putin has been ignoring the American proposal for a complete ceasefire. The recent Russian strikes on Kryvyi Rih, Sumy, and our other cities demonstrate that the Russians are not only determined to continue the war, but they are putting pressure on the West rather than feeling the force of pressure on themselves. (...) It is also important that we all continue to work together as part of a coalition of those willing and able to guarantee security. Britain, France, and other NATO countries are already actively preparing the basis for a security contingent in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.

In his turn, Rutte condemned Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities, in particular the firing of two ballistic missiles at Sumy on Palm Sunday.

“I am here today because I believe that the people of Ukraine deserve real peace, real security and safety in their country, in their homes. My heart is with the people of Ukraine. With those who have lost loved ones in these recent attacks and over the years. With those who have been injured, lost their homes or whose dreams have been shattered by this unjust and illegal war,” the NATO Secretary General concluded.

• On April 7, Rutte expressed dissatisfaction with Russia’s attempts to drag out negotiations for ending the war in Ukraine as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace initiative.