- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the allies’ support for providing new military aid and a path to NATO membership.
- But Zelensky also said Ukraine could not win a war with Russia unless restrictions on the use of US weapons to attack military targets inside Russia were lifted.
- Russia’s devastating missile attack on the eve of a summit marking NATO’s 75th anniversary highlights that Putin may not be ready to negotiate peace anytime soon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday welcomed the allies’ support for providing significant new military aid and a path to NATO membership, but urged that the aid arrive faster and that restrictions on the use of U.S. weapons to attack military targets inside Russia be lifted.
“If we want to win, if we want to gain the upper hand, if we want to save and defend our country, we need to lift all restrictions,” Zelenskiy said in the final hours of a summit with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg where Ukraine was promised new weapons and other support to bolster its defences against Russia.
The summit unfolded against the backdrop of a turbulent U.S. political cycle, with growing uncertainty among Democrats about whether President Joe Biden can serve another four years in office after his shocking debate failure two weeks ago called his future as president into question.
NATO appears divided on whether to ask Biden to lift embargo on Ukraine attacks
President Biden’s unexpected gaffe on Thursday evening when he mistakenly introduced Zelensky as Russian President Vladimir Putin at an event announcing the agreement, called the “Ukraine Compact,” did little to ease concerns.
Biden’s gaffe caused some in the room to gasp in surprise, but Biden quickly tried to defuse the situation by saying, “President Putin? Are you going to beat President Putin?” Biden told Zelensky, “I’m focused on beating President Putin, and we have to worry about that.”
Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron did not criticize Biden. Macron said “everyone slips up sometimes” and said Biden, who he spoke to at dinner on Wednesday, “has a very good grasp of things.” Starmer also refused to directly respond to Biden’s gaffe at least five times, instead praising him for his leadership and preparations to organize the event and deliver a solid outcome for Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speak at a press conference at the NATO Summit in Washington on July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
All eyes were on Biden as he concluded a summit of 32 NATO leaders in Washington with a press conference.
Asked about Zelenskiy’s calls for greater freedom to attack Russian forces, Biden gave no indication he would ease U.S. restrictions, saying he was following the advice of defense and intelligence officials.
“If he had the capability to attack Moscow, attack the Kremlin, would that make sense?” Biden said of Zelenskiy, before adding that “we’re looking at it day by day, how far into Russian territory they should go.”
Ukraine has been a major focus for European and North American leaders at a summit of the 75-year-old military alliance, with Biden announcing a new military aid package on the same day and pledging to Zelenskiy that “we will continue to stand with you, period.”
Zelensky publicly expressed his gratitude for the package and for NATO leaders’ assurances that Ukraine is now on an “irreversible path” to NATO membership, but he also sounded a warning: Ukraine cannot win its third-year war with Russia unless the United States removes restrictions on the use of weapons against Russian military targets.
The Biden administration, concerned that broader use of U.S.-made weapons could provoke Russia into expanding the war, has allowed Ukraine to fire weapons into Russian territory only to strike back against Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to attack.
Zelenskiy has been pushing for a broader strike that would allow U.S. weapons to hit key military bases and facilities deep inside Russian territory.
Calls to lift the restrictions have grown in recent months as Russian forces have gained strength while domestic political fighting in the United States has delayed crucial military aid to Ukraine.
Stoltenberg and Macron have supported efforts to give Ukraine more freedom in how it uses weapons provided by the U.S. “When you tell the Ukrainian people, ‘You have no right to reach the point where the missiles are fired,’ you are in effect saying, we are delivering weapons but you cannot defend yourself,” Macron said in May.
Biden, in his one-on-one meeting with Zelenskiy, said the aid package is his eighth since taking office, with the latest being $225 million in aid that includes the purchase of additional Patriot missile systems to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses against a deadly onslaught of Russian airstrikes.
The Patriot air defense system is the second system the United States will provide to Ukraine and is one of several announced at a NATO summit this week as part of a package of promises to arm Ukraine to fend off Russian attacks, including one of the deadliest of the war this week, which struck a children’s hospital in Kiev.
The devastating missile attack, which came on the eve of a summit celebrating NATO’s 75th anniversary, highlighted the possibility that Putin may not be ready to negotiate peace any time soon.
Responding to NATO allies’ declaration that Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to NATO membership, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, chaired by Putin, said Moscow should do everything “to put Ukraine on an irreversible path to NATO membership that will lead to the demise of either Ukraine or NATO, or both.”
NATO leaders have pledged that Ukraine will one day become an ally, but have said Ukraine can only join NATO once the war with Russia ends and allies agree all conditions have been met.
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In addition to offering more military assistance, NATO launched a new program to guarantee the supply of military equipment and coordinate training for Ukraine’s beleaguered military. NATO allies also pledged to maintain current military aid levels (about $43.5 billion per year) for at least a year.
The summit is also overshadowed by concerns about growing support from China and North Korea for Russian aggression.
The final flurry of talks at the NATO summit came a day after the alliance labeled China a “crucial backer” of Russia’s war in Ukraine. China accused NATO of seeking its security at the expense of others and warned the Western military alliance not to bring the same “chaos” to Asia.
