Zelensky hopes for victory within year.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said[1] on July 12 he hopes Ukraine will achieve victory in the full-scale war against Russia before the NATO summit in Washington in 2024. Asked about the expectations before the next year's alliance summit, Zelensky said that Ukraine believes in victory over Russia. "We believe that the next very important step for Ukraine will be at the next NATO summit - symbolically, after all, the 75th anniversary of the Alliance - in Washington.

I think we need to work hard and prepare for this summit," the president said at a press conference following the summit in Vilnius. Zelensky voiced his conviction that once Ukraine achieves victory, membership in NATO will follow. Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukraine's Presidential Office, presented[2] a similar position on July 11 when he said that Ukraine will receive a full invitation during the Washington summit at the latest.

"There is a 100% probability of this. Why? Because I think, by this time, Russia will finally lose its subjectivity and cease to exist as a country that can wage wars," Podolyak said, adding that Ukraine should win the war by 2024.

During the two-day summit in Vilnius, NATO adopted a three-part package to bring Ukraine closer to the Alliance, and dropped the need for the Membership Action Plan (MAP), but stopped short of a full invitation. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine will be able to join once "allies agree, and conditions are met." While Ukraine's membership aspirations have not been satisfied, Zelensky acknowledged the positive results of the summit, as partners presented new security commitments[3] and military aid packages for Kyiv.

Zelensky: Invitation to NATO would be 'ideal'

"The results of the summit are good, but if there was an invitation [to NATO], it would be ideal," President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a joint conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Vilnius on July 12.

[4] Martin Fornusek

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukrainer.

Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

References

  1. ^ said (www.youtube.com)
  2. ^ presented (kyivindependent.com)
  3. ^ security commitments (kyivindependent.com)
  4. ^ Zelensky: Invitation to NATO would be 'ideal'"The results of the summit are good, but if there was an invitation [to NATO], it would be ideal," President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a joint conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Vilnius on July 12. (kyivindependent.com)