NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte meets with with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine in Kyiv Oct. 3, 2024.

By  Gary  Raynaldo    –  DIPLOMATIC   TIMES

NATO’s new Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Ukraine Thursday pledging the alliance’s continued support for the country’s war effort against Russia. It was Rutte’s first trip since taking over the helm of NATO Tuesday from outgoing secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.  Rutte met with Ukraine President  Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv and declared “NATO stands with Ukraine.”

He said “Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before and will continue on this path until you become a member of our alliance.”  Rutte also reminded Zelenskyy that NATO allies have provided Ukraine with “unprecedented support” since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The secretary general noted that although allies have provided Ukraine with more than 99% of all military aid, he said he knows Ukraine urgently requires more. “Allies agreed at the NATO Summit in Washington this summer to make sure we could provide you with more – more equipment, more training, more support,” Rutte told Zelenskyy. Rutte said allies also have agreed to a financial pledge of 40 billion euros worth of military aid within a year in addition to  the formation of a new NATO command to coordinate assistance and training “so that Ukraine has what it needs to prevail.”   The secretary general also noted that in the last few weeks, there has been further military aid for Ukraine including new contributions from Denmark, Latvia, the United Kingdom, and nearly $8 billion of assistance from the United States.

Asked about prospects for Ukraine becoming a member of NATO, Rutte said “Ukraine’s path to membership is irreversible.” Rutte added that “Ukraine gets stronger day by day, more interoperable with NATO and better prepared than ever to join our alliance. And this is basically building the bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine. And I think the day will come that Ukraine is a full member of NATO.”