Ukraine faces West's pragmatic approach again - military expert Zgurets on NATO summit outcome for Ukraine

This was stated by Defense Express Director Serhiy Zgurets on Espreso TV.

"The NATO summit was Ukrainian in terms of the background, content and issues that were discussed there. We expected clearer signals when Ukraine would become a NATO member, but this is probably a consequence of our high expectations. We again faced the pragmatic approach of the West and the United States, which are still afraid to take as a basis the Peace Formula, which provides clear signals to both us and Russia when we become members of the Alliance," he said.

Zgurets emphasized that this process is being postponed.

"In fact, now only the Ukrainian Armed Forces are fulfilling the mission for which NATO was created - to protect Europe from the Russian or Soviet military threat. I expected more from the summit, but I hope that the mechanisms that will be further offered to Ukraine will be important and sufficient to accelerate NATO membership in the next stages, as well as leave unchanged the issue of training the Armed Forces and other measures that ensure our sustainable resilience in the fight against Russia," the expert concluded.

What is known about the NATO summit and Ukraine's accession to the Alliance

On July 11-12, the NATO summit is taking place in Vilnius. The meetings are held at the level of heads of state and government. It is the first time that Lithuania is hosting the summit, and the events are taking place at the LITEXPO congress center. Thousands of military personnel ensure security during the events, while the Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems protect the airspace.

The meetings involve the leaders of 31 NATO countries, including US President Joe Biden, as well as additional delegations from Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Ukraine, and Sweden. In total, over 2,400 members from 48 foreign delegations, including up to 40 heads of state and up to 150 other high-ranking officials, were expected to arrive in Vilnius. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also participating in the summit.

Specifically, on July 11, the NATO summit in Vilnius adopted a package of decisions regarding Ukraine. The Membership Action Plan stage is cancelled, and the country will receive an invitation to join the Alliance after fulfilling the requirements for accession and with the agreement of all allies.

The NATO countries agreed on a final communiqué regarding Ukraine, stating that they remember the commitments made in 2008 that Ukraine will become a NATO member. The document also acknowledges that Ukraine's path to full Euro-Atlantic integration has gone beyond the necessity of the Membership Action Plan. The member states emphasized that Ukraine has become more operationally and politically integrated with the Alliance and has made significant progress in its reform efforts. It is added that the foreign ministers of NATO countries will regularly assess progress through the Annual National Program.

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, responded to the decisions of the Vilnius NATO summit after the first day. He believes that the Alliance should not delay Ukraine's accession to the military-political bloc.