Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on NATO to clear the way for his country to join the western military alliance at its summit in July. Neither in Ukraine, nor in Europe, nor in NATO would the majority of the population understand if Kiev did not receive a “well-deserved invitation,” Zelensky said in his daily video address on Thursday evening.
He had previously received NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Kiev for the first time since the Russian war of aggression began almost 14 months ago.
The meeting was not just about defending Ukraine, but about “defending the entire rules-based international order and protecting life,” said the President. Hardly anyone is currently contributing more to Euro-Atlantic security than the Ukrainian soldiers. Kiev therefore “did everything to ensure that our request was fulfilled”. Several members of the alliance have reservations about Ukraine’s admission.
Stoltenberg in Kiev: Ukraine’s place is in NATO
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, on the other hand, promised Ukraine further support in its efforts to join the military alliance during his surprise visit to Kiev. “Ukraine deserves a place in NATO,” he said at a joint press conference with Zelenskyy. With the support of NATO, it will also be able to take it over time.
Stoltenberg also referred to a support program announced at the beginning of April for Ukraine’s planned NATO membership. The multi-year initiative is intended to make it easier for the country to adapt to alliance standards and enable seamless cooperation with NATO. It was “proof of NATO’s long-term commitment in Ukraine,” said Stoltenberg in Kiev.
The door is open a crack, but now is not the time to decide.
Boris Pistorius, Secretary of Defense
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius assumes that a decision on Ukraine’s entry into NATO will only be made after Russia’s war of aggression has ended. “The door is open a crack, but this is not the time to decide now,” said the SPD politician on Thursday evening on the ZDF program “Maybrit Illner”. To do this, you have to “first ward off this conflict, this attack, and then in the new era you have to weigh up this step carefully”.
Pistorius: It’s normal for the attacked to advance into enemy territory
Pistorius considers limited attacks by Ukraine on Russian territory in the fight against the invasion to be acceptable. It is “completely normal” in such a military conflict “that the attacked person also moves into enemy territory, for example to block supply routes,” said the SPD politician on the ZDF program “Maybrit Illner”.
“As long as no cities, no civilians, no civilian areas are attacked, you will have to accept that. Not with pleasure, but it is part of it, for example to prevent supply routes.”
Referring to the state of the Russian army, Pistorius said: “We know that some of the material that is now being pushed in from the depots is in a pitiful condition. Some are literally ancient – tanks from the 50s and 60s.”
Heavy explosion in Russian border town of Belgorod
A heavy explosion accidentally triggered by a Russian fighter jet shook the city of Belgorod, not far from the border with Ukraine. “A huge crater with a radius of 20 meters has formed at the intersection of one of the main roads,” said the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, on Thursday evening. Two women were injured. The Defense Ministry in Moscow later admitted that a Russian warplane dropped a bomb over the city.
Ukrainian national debt rises to almost 80 percent of GDP
The economic slump caused by the war and new loans caused Ukraine’s national debt to rise to almost 80 percent of economic output last year. Specifically, the state and state-guaranteed debts have risen from 48.9 percent in the pre-war year 2021 to 78.5 percent, the Ministry of Finance in Kiev said on Twitter on Thursday.
Decided from the Petersburg Dialogue with Russia
The Petersburg Dialogue, a civil society forum between Germany and Russia, is being closed because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The general meeting decided to dissolve the association, as its office announced on Thursday evening in Berlin. The Petersburg Dialogue was launched in 2001 by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and then Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD).
Henkel sells Russian business for 600 million euros
At the same time, the exodus of Western corporations from Russia continues. The consumer goods group Henkel has found a buyer for its business there. The company announced on Thursday in Düsseldorf that the activities would be sold to a consortium of local financial investors. The price is the equivalent of around 600 million euros. The consortium included companies such as Augment Investments, Kismet Capital Group and Elbrus Services. Henkel emphasized that the buyers are not subject to any EU or US sanctions. They also had long-standing business relationships in Western countries.
What will be important on Friday
Defense ministers and high-ranking military officials from numerous countries will discuss further support for Ukraine in the war against Russia this Friday (10:00 a.m.) at the US Ramstein Air Force Base in Rhineland-Palatinate. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin invited members of the so-called Ukraine Contact Group to the conference. (dpa)
