US and Europe say Ukraine is on ‘irreversible’ path to NATO. However, now the upcoming war with Russia is over

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path. nato clubUS and EU officials promised allies on Wednesday that Russia will be allowed to join the Western military alliance once the war with Russia ends.

In another boost for Ukraine, the US, the Netherlands and Denmark announced on Wednesday that First F-16s delivered by NATO They are headed to Ukraine and will take to the air this summer after months of preparation. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky tweets his effort to boost air pressure will get Ukraine’s attention soon possibly the deadliest moves of the war,

US Environment Secretary Antony Blinken, Czech President Petr Pavel, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Belgian High Minister Alexander De Croo all failed to make “irreversible” promises to NATO leaders to clarify Ukraine’s future. a height in washington,

Both Stubbs and Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said the language was expected in the final summit declaration from all 32 NATO allies.

“I think it’s very important to send a message to the Kremlin from here – that Ukraine’s path and bridge to NATO membership is now irreversible,” Stubb told reporters.

Zelensky fears his nation will be left to fight a more powerful Russia indefinitely in a different way Won’t fight for anything less than a company agreement From NATO that Ukraine could attach military coalition.

The US and some other international locations have created a hostile club for Ukraine to prevent tensions from escalating during a war with Russia that could lead to a major war. Also they have put up wire which Ukraine will have to remove Important steps to tackle corruption In addition to alternative systemic reforms.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has long criticized neighboring Ukraine’s struggle to join the Western alliance, calling it an encroachment on Russia’s security and interests.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg underlined that Ukraine is not going to join the alliance directly, However he stressed that this needed to happen after the war ended to ensure that Russia would never attack Ukraine again.

Stoltenberg said, “I firmly believe that when the fighting stops, we need to make sure that Ukraine has the ability to deter future aggression by Russia, and they need security guarantees.”

President Joe Biden, seen later with Stoltenberg, reaffirmed the U.S. backup to Ukraine but also the usefulness of NATO more broadly. He reiterated that since he took office, the collection of colleagues has been spending a minimum of 2% of their gross domestic product on security big from 9 to 23 And the collection of combat teams in NATO’s eastern flank has doubled.

“We can and will defend every inch of NATO territory, and we will do it together,” Biden said.

Zelensky, in Washington for a NATO summit, on Tuesday night told friendly Republican lawmakers of Ukraine’s urgent need for F-16 fighter jets. He said his country needs more than 100 to counter devastating Russian wind attacks on Ukraine’s cities, power infrastructure and other vital targets. He said that Russia was using 300 jets to carry out the attacks.

In a post on X, Zelensky thanked the three international locations for “taking practical steps to achieve the goal of all Ukrainians: to strengthen the Ukrainian Air Force with the F-16.” The first flight-ready jets are being moved through the Netherlands and Denmark, and White Space said they will perform “operational flight” this summer.

Zelensky also thanked Belgium Norway for its continuation To send additional jets.

Six countries, including the United States, are training Ukrainians on the F-16, but officials do not have the exact numbers or the exact location.

A small group of pilots have graduated from US training at Morris Breeze National Barricade Bottom in Tucson, Arizona, according to a US official. The US has said it hopes to train some until the end of their lives. The official spoke publicly on the condition of anonymity to hand over the quality.

Meanwhile, Zelensky met behind closed doors with nearly a dozen senators on Wednesday and asked for additional security assistance, said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.

“He thanked the strong bipartisan leadership in the Senate for providing strong funding and expressed his concern for ensuring that we actually deliver results,” Coons said.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said he met two years ago with Ukrainian pilots who sought F-16s, including one pilot who has since been killed. Zelensky denied that F-16s had begun arriving to Ukraine, Sullivan said.

He said, “This is one of those patterns that is very frustrating for people like me who are supporting these national security supplements, and more importantly, the delays of all these weapons systems.” “It’s really outrageous.”

One after the other on Wednesday, the US and Germany announced that they will begin “episodic deployment” of long-range missiles to Germany, including Tomahawk, SM-6 and hypersonic missiles, in 2026.

The announcement is notable because land-based firing of some missiles from inside Europe was barred under the previous Intermediate-Dimension Nuclear Forces Treaty, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Hands Regulating Association. They are prevented because the standard missiles would have been altered to be nuclear capable and their importance on the EU continent would mean that attainable objectives would take a year to respond.

Kimball said the pace at which deployments are being made is likely to reassure allies that Russia could potentially respond by deploying conventional or nuclear weapons of its own.

ECU and US allies have Optional bare finger delivery introducedlike dozens wind protection techniquesWith the patriots, on this day.

The guaranteed gun guarantee is being met with upcoming opposition from Republican lawmakers who are allies of former President Donald Trump. US backup package deal with Ukraine halted The last months of this life allowed Russia to gain a battlefield advantage against Ukrainian forces, which were fighting with dwindling resources and ammunition.

The Europeans and NATO, learning from that setback, have vowed to take greater responsibility for ensuring a good tide of military backup for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Trump was asked several times on Fox News Radio as he campaigned for a second term whether he wanted the US to make progress in NATO. He responded, “No, I want them to pay their bills.”

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The cooking of dinner was reported from Brussels. AP journalists Tara Cope, Amer Madani and Matthew Lee in Washington and Jill Colvin in Fresh York contributed.