Rishi Sunak rallied in defence of President Zelensky yesterday after Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, suggested Ukraine should show more gratitude for support instead of presenting its backers with escalating “Amazon-style” wish lists of weaponry.
Wallace said pro-Ukrainian sentiment in the US Congress and other western parliaments was beginning to waver and argued that Kyiv could shore it up by appearing more thankful.
Speaking at the Nato summit in Lithuania yesterday, he recalled driving for 11 hours to meet Ukrainian representatives last summer, only to be confronted with itemised requests for armaments. “I said to them, ‘I’m not Amazon,’” Wallace said, stressing that the incident had not affected Britain’s willingness to supply arms.
“There is a slight word of caution here, which is that whether we like it or not people want to see gratitude,” he said. “My counsel to the Ukrainians is sometimes you’re persuading countries to give up their own stocks [of munitions]. And yes, the war is a noble war, and yes, we see it as you doing a war not just for yourself but for our freedoms.
“But sometimes you’ve got to persuade lawmakers on the Hill in America. You’ve got to persuade doubting politicians in other countries that, you know, it’s worth it and it’s worthwhile and they’re getting something for it.
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“You will sometimes hear grumbles not from the administration in the American system, but you’ll hear from lawmakers on [Capitol] Hill, ‘We’ve given $43 billion worth [of military aid] ... you know, we’re not Amazon.’”
Responding to Wallace’s suggestion at the summit, Zelensky said: “I thought that we were always very grateful to the UK, to the UK prime minister and the minister for defence, because really people in Britain has always supported Ukraine. And we are forever grateful.
• Iain Martin comment: Nato’s faltering flank has let Zelensky down
“I don’t quite understand how else can we thank. Maybe let him text me how else can we be thankful. Perhaps we could wake up on the morning thanking to the minister, personally.
“Truly, Britain is our ally. Maybe the minister wants something special. But I think we have a great relationship. Because British people support Ukrainians so much, that’s why we have such a tight relationship.”
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When asked about Wallace’s remarks, Sunak said he was convinced that Zelensky and the Ukrainian people were grateful. “President Zelensky has repeatedly expressed his gratitude to me and to the British people and indeed other allies as well,” he said. “I think everyone can see that that’s how he feels.”
His point was borne out yesterday when Zelensky issued profuse thanks for the “huge support” from the United States at a bilateral meeting with President Biden in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.
He found particularly warm words for the White House’s decision to give Ukraine cluster munitions, which most countries have expunged from their arsenals because of the risk of collateral damage. Russia and Ukraine, neither of which has signed up to an international treaty banning their use, have both deployed them in the conflict.
“It’s very simple, you know, to criticise ... cluster munitions and you made a difficult political decision [to send them],” Zelensky told Biden. “But you have to know that Russia used such weapons from the first day.”
Zelensky struck a markedly more upbeat and emollient tone after his impassioned denunciation of Nato’s highly circumspect statement about Ukraine’s prospects of membership on Tuesday.
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The alliance gave Kyiv some encouragement, such as promising not to put it through the long drawn-out “membership action plan” process, but stuck to the line that Ukraine could join only “once allies agree and conditions are met”.
Zelensky had initially lambasted this vague formulation as “absurd” and disrespectful to Ukraine. However, during his meetings with Nato leaders yesterday, he was more conciliatory, saying he had faith that Ukraine had a “future as a fully-fledged Nato member”.
He said: “We understand that some are afraid of talking about our membership now because no one wants to have a world war. This is logical and understandable. Ukraine is fighting and it certainly understands that it can’t be a member as long as the war continues. This is absolutely clear.”
President Biden told a large, cheering crowd in Vilnius that the West would never abandon Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
The US president insisted that democracies across the world would continue to stand against the “might is right” view of Moscow.
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“We will not waver,” Biden said in the courtyard of Vilnius University. “The defence of freedom is not the work of a day or a year. It’s the calling of our lifetime, of all time.”
President Putin “was betting Nato would break apart”, Biden said, “but he thought wrong.”
At the same time Nato and its partners sought to reassure Ukraine with promises of advanced weaponry, intelligence sharing and guidance that Ukraine could expect a relatively swift path into Nato once the Russian invasion was over.
The G7 group of developed nations, including the US, Britain, Germany and Japan, said they would support Kyiv in building a “sustainable force capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring Russian aggression in the future” with the full spectrum of modern conventional armaments and training missions. This is likely to include deliveries of much-needed air defence systems and western combat aircraft such as the F-16.
They also acknowledged a need for “an international mechanism for reparation of damages, loss or injury caused by Russian aggression”.
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For its part Ukraine will be expected to make more progress on reforms to strengthen the rule of law and root out the corruption that had blighted its private and public sectors, as well as bolstering “democratic civilian control of the military” to ensure that the armed forces do not become a state within a state.
Jens Stoltenberg, secretary-general of Nato, revealed that the first Ukrainian pilots would begin learning to fly F-16s under the tutelage of at least ten Nato members, led by Denmark and the Netherlands, by the end of the summer.
Wallace pledged to send a substantial contingent of British soldiers to resume training their Ukrainian counterparts on the ground once the conflict came to an end.
Behind the story
As the leaders ambled into the first session of Nato’s new council with Ukraine yesterday, the atmosphere oozed a kind of ostentatious conviviality (Oliver Moody writes).
President Biden draped an arm around Rishi Sunak’s shoulder and shook President Zelensky’s hand as they posed for the photographers, while a Ukrainian flag was carried into the room and took its symbolic place among the others.
For 17 months, since Russia invaded Ukraine, Nato has repeated a single word so often that it has acquired the character of a mantra: unity. On the face of it, this has remained more or less as true at the Vilnius summit.
After a nifty quadrille of trilateral diplomacy, Turkey’s veto on Sweden’s membership melted away — though President Erdogan has said his country will not approve the accession before October. And with some neat timing the White House signalled that a long-delayed batch of F-16 fighter jets will, after all, probably find its way to Ankara.
Britain, Germany, France and half a dozen other members have rummaged deep into their depleted arms inventories and dug up another bundle of equipment for the Ukrainians.
Yet it is becoming hard to hide the hairline cracks beginning to appear in the façade, not just within Nato but between the alliance and Ukraine.
The most glaring of them, among many smaller squabbles, is the American and German-flavoured fudge on Ukraine’s prospects of Nato membership, which holds out the possibility of an invitation once “allies agree and conditions are met”.
Zelensky initially railed against this vague formula, which he said showed a lack of respect. It is no secret that some of his closer allies within Nato are similarly dissatisfied. Even after the statement was issued President Duda of Poland took the remarkable step of saying it was “not enough”.
of Poland took the remarkable step of saying it was “not enough”.
Looming over it all is the shadow of the US presidential election next year and the worry that Washington may not look so kindly on Nato in the future.
As the conflict in Ukraine drags on into its 18th month, the economic strain continues to sap public morale and arms inventories dwindle across the West, it is only inevitable that a certain tetchiness is beginning to creep into the alliance.
President Biden told a large, cheering crowd in Vilnius that the West would never abandon Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
The US president insisted that democracies across the world would continue to stand against the “might is right” view of Moscow.
“We will not waiver,” Biden said in the courtyard of Vilnius University. “The defence of freedom is not the work of a day or a year. It’s the calling of our lifetime - of all time.
President Putin “was betting Nato would break apart”, Biden said, “but he thought wrong”.
Biden added: “Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken, we will stand for liberty and freedom today and for as long as it takes. We all want this war to end on just terms that uphold principles of the United Nations charter, that we all signed up to - sovereignty, territorial integrity. These are two pillars of peaceful relations among nations. One country cannot be allowed to seize his neighbour territory by force.”
“Putin still wrongly believes that he can outlast Ukraine. He can’t believe it’s their land, their country and their future. And even after all this time, Putin still doubts our staying power. He’s still making a bad bet, that the conviction and the unity among the United States and our allies and partners will break down. He still doesn’t understand that our commitment, our values, our freedom is something we can never, never, ever, ever walk away from. It’s who we are.”
PM: Ukraine does show gratitude
Rishi Sunak has rejected a suggestion by his defence secretary Ben Wallace that Ukraine needs to show more “gratitude” for the military support it is getting from the West.
The defence secretary urged Volodymyr Zelensky to show more appreciation for western military aid as he recalled an incident in Ukraine last summer when he drove 11 hours to a meeting only to be presented with a fresh wish list of weaponry. He said he told the Ukrainians at the meeting: “I’m not Amazon”.
Asked about the comments at the Nato summit in Lithuania, Sunak said: “President Zelensky has expressed his gratitude for what we’ve done on a number of occasions and not least in his incredible moving address that he made to parliament earlier this year.
“He’s done so again to me as he has done countless times when I’ve met him. So I know he and his people are incredibly grateful for the support the UK has shown.
“But people across Ukraine are also fighting for their lives and freedom every single day and they’re paying a terrible price for it. So I completely understand Volodymyr’s desire to do everything he can to protect his people and to stop this war.”
PM: Ukraine belongs in Nato
Rishi Sunak has said that Nato is “more confident and more united than ever” after he left the alliance’s summit in Vilnius (Geraldine Scott writes).
Sunak, who met with allies during the summit, said that Britain should be proud of its role as a founding member of Nato, and welcomed agreements made to continue to support Ukraine.
He tweeted: “Nato is where Ukraine belongs.”
Prior to the summit, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky was left frustrated by the reluctance of the 31 member states to agree a timetable for his country to be admitted into the international defensive alliance.
But Sunak greeted Zelensky by saying “you belong in Nato”. He said it was “clear from today’s summit that people’s view is Ukraine will and should be a member of Nato.”
Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said that Ukraine was “now closer to Nato than ever before”.
We are doing everything we can, Biden tells Zelensky
President Biden has told President Zelensky that the United States is doing everything it can to help Ukraine succeed in its fight against Russia.
The pair sat down together on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Lithuania after the US and other world powers announced long-term security commitments for Ukraine.
“I promise you the United States is doing everything we can to get you what you need,” Biden told Zelensky. “I look forward to the day when we’re having the meeting celebrating your official, official membership in Nato.
“You set an example to the whole world when it comes to genuine courage. Not only all of you but your people — your sons, your daughters, your husbands, your wives, your friends: you’re incredible.”
Zelensky expressed his gratitude for billions of dollars in weapons and other support from the American people, despite his biting criticism of Nato a day earlier over not outlining a pathway to membership for his country.
The US has said that Ukraine should not be allowed to join Nato while it is at war, out of fear that membership would spark a global confrontation with Russia, which opposes Ukraine coming under Nato’s security umbrella.
Zelensky told Biden: “You gave us huge support and I want to thank all the Americans.”
Wallace told Ukraine ‘I’m not Amazon’ when handed weapons wishlist
Ben Wallace has advised President Zelensky to display more “gratitude” if he wants western countries to continue sending weapons to Ukraine.
The defence secretary urged Zelensky to show more appreciation for western military aid as he recalled an incident in Ukraine last summer when he drove 11 hours to a meeting only to be presented with a fresh wishlist of weaponry. He said he told the Ukrainians at the meeting: “I’m not Amazon”.
Wallace said that while the UK’s patience with the demands for weaponry was not wearing thin, Kyiv had to persuade lawmakers in the US that Ukraine appreciated the military support after Zelensky’s outburst yesterday criticising Nato’s decision not to offer it a timeline for joining Nato.
Whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude. You know, my counsel to the Ukrainians is sometimes: look, you are persuading countries to give up their own stocks.
“And yes, your war is a noble war and we see it as you waging a war not just for yourselves but for our freedoms. But sometimes you’ve got to persuade lawmakers on the Hill in America, you’ve got to persuade doubting politicians in other countries that it’s worth it and it’s worthwhile and that they’re getting something for it. Whether you like it or not, that’s just the reality of it.
“You will sometimes hear grumbles, not from the [US] administration and the American system, but you will hear from lawmakers on the Hill: ‘We’ve given $83 billion worth of whatever and you know, we’re not Amazon.’ I mean, that’s true. I told them that last June: I said to the Ukrainians when I drove 11 hours to be given a [wish] list: ‘I’m not Amazon’,” Wallace said.
In a press conference to mark the end of the Nato summit, Zelensky expressed his profuse gratitude to the US government, Congress and public for their support: “You are truly the leaders in support for Ukraine. We really appreciate it.”
Earlier, in a meeting with Rishi Sunak, he emphasised Ukraine’s need for more long-range weapons and fighter jets.
The Ukrainian president said he needed to “expand the capabilities of the Ukrainian army on the battlefield, in particular through long-range weapons and, in the future, modern Western aviation.”
Sunak told Zelensky that security guarantees set to be unveiled by the G7 today “would give Ukraine an even greater level of endurance against Russian aggression”.
However, he said the guarantees would “not be a substitute for Nato membership” and said he “looked forward to building on the new security framework as soon as possible”.
PM to decide on public sector pay rise
Rishi Sunak has said that there needs to be “fairness for taxpayers” as he weighs up whether to block pay rises of more than 6 per cent for millions of public sector workers.
The prime minister is expected to decide tomorrow whether to accept the recommendations of independent pay review bodies that teachers, junior doctors, prison officers, soldiers and police officers should get pay rises of about 6 per cent.
Speaking at the Nato summit today, he said that he would be guided in making the decision by the principles of “fairness” and “responsibility”. “Fairness for our public sector workers, because we want to make sure they’re rewarded fairly for their workers, but also fairness for taxpayers who ultimately have to foot the bill for pay rises,” he said.
“And the other things we’ll be guided by is responsibility. I think everyone knows the economic context that we’re in and we need to make sure that government decisions, particularly when it comes to not borrowing more, are made responsibly so that we don’t fuel inflation, make it worse or last for longer.”
G7 will develop Ukraine’s army to ‘deter Russian aggression in the future’
G7 allies will work together to supply fighter jets, long-range weapons and armoured vehicles to Ukraine, under the terms of a new set of security guarantees agreed at the Nato summit in Vilnius (George Grylls writes).
The UK is among the signatories of a G7 agreement that promises to develop Ukrainian armed forces into a military “capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring Russian aggression in the future”.
The agreement, modelled on similar guarantees offered to Israel, also commits to intelligence-sharing and developing Ukraine’s industrial base.
Each country will help to build up the Ukrainian army so that it has “modern military equipment, across land, air, and sea domains”.
The agreement says it will prioritise “air defence, artillery and long-range fires, armoured vehicles, and other key capabilities, such as combat air, and by promoting increased interoperability with Euro-Atlantic partners”.
Ukrainian pilots are currently being trained to fly F-16 jets after President Biden lifted the American veto on transferring planes to Kyiv earlier this year.
Unlike Nato membership, however, the text does not force allies to react in the event Ukraine is attacked.
“In the event of future Russian armed attack, we intend to immediately consult with Ukraine to determine appropriate next steps,” the document says.
G7 nations pledge ‘enduring’ military support to Ukraine
G7 nations pledged to offer “enduring” military support to Ukraine to help it fight Russia’s invading forces and stop any repeat of the war once it ends.
“We will each work with Ukraine on specific, bilateral, long-term security commitments and arrangements towards ensuring a sustainable force capable of defending Ukraine now and deterring Russian aggression in the future,” the G7 said in a statement.
Zelensky: Ukraine understands it can’t join Nato while at war
President Zelensky has insisted that Ukraine has a “future as a fully-fledged Nato” member but said a clearer invitation to join would be “optimum” (Oliver Moody writes).
Having reacted angrily yesterday to Nato’s statement that his country could only enter the alliance “once allies agree and conditions have been met”, Zelensky was markedly more upbeat and emollient in a joint appearance with Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general.
“We understand that some are afraid of talking about our [Nato] membership now because no one wants to have a world war,” he said. “This is logical and understandable.
“Ukraine is fighting and it surely understands that it can’t be a member as long as the war continues. This is absolutely clear.”
Zelensky said Ukraine “highly appreciated” that it would not need to go through a long drawn-out membership action plan process and welcomed fresh security guarantees from the US, Britain and other members of the G7, saying he would seek deliveries of warplanes and air defence systems.
Stoltenberg said the first Ukrainian pilots would begin training on F-16 fighter jets in the West as soon as this summer, after Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said he expected the planes to be deployed by next March.
Zelensky also said he would seek long-range missiles from President Biden but profusely thanked the US and its public for being “truly the leaders in support for Ukraine”.
Zelensky confident Ukraine will join Nato when war ends
President Zelensky said he expects Ukraine to join Nato once Russia’s war ends, after alliance leaders refused to set a timeline for membership.
“I am confident that, after the war, Ukraine will be in Nato. We’ll be doing everything possible to make it happen,” Zelensky said, at a news conference at the Nato summit in Vilnius.
Russia calls West’s security assurances for Ukraine a ‘very dangerous mistake’
The Kremlin has described the security assurances the West is considering for Ukraine as a “very dangerous” mistake that would impinge on Russia’s own security and expose Europe to greater risks for many years ahead.
Dmitry Peskov, President Putin’s spokesman, said today that the move by Nato countries “is fraught with highly negative consequences in the medium, long and even short term”.
“By taking such a decision, these countries will make Europe much more dangerous for many, many years to come. And of course they will do a disservice to us, something we will take into account and keep in mind in future.”
“We consider this move to be badly mistaken and potentially very dangerous,” he added.
Putin has previously portrayed an ever-expanding Nato as one of the main reasons for launching the so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine last year.
Polish leader criticises level of Nato’s support for Ukraine
President Duda of Poland has issued swift criticism of yesterday’s joint Nato communiqué on security guarantees for Ukraine, by suggesting it does not go far enough.
Less than 24 hours after he signed the statement with other alliance leaders in Vilnius, Duda suggested he sympathised with Kyiv’s demands for full membership.
• Read more: Q&A: Should Ukraine join Nato?
“In my opinion, this [decision] is absolutely not enough. I hope that in a few years Ukraine will become a full member of Nato,” he said. He emphasised that Ukraine’s accession would be a significant boost for Poland, as well as for Nato in general.
Nato discards plans for Tokyo office after opposition from Macron
Nato has abandoned plans for a Tokyo office to shore up the alliance in Asia after pressure from Emmanuel Macron, the French president (Gavin Blair writes).
The Lithuanian foreign minister told a briefing earlier today that the plan is now “dead”.
The office would have become Nato’s first official presence in Asia. The alliance has been increasing its focus on the Asia-Pacific region, but not all members appear to agree with the pivot.
Earlier this morning, Nato condemned the launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea.
South Korean president pledges to share more military information with Nato
During talks involving member states and Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea said his country will bolster military information sharing with the alliance (Gavin Blair writes).
South Korea will also contribute to a fund for Ukraine, according to Yoon’s office. Yoon also held meetings on the sidelines of the summit with the leaders of Sweden and Romania.
Discussions with Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, centered on cooperation in nuclear power and supply chains, while Yoon talked with Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, about North Korea and the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine says it shot down 11 Russian drones during overnight attack on Kyiv
Ukraine’s military said it shot down 11 Russian drones overnight, in a second consecutive night of attacks on the capital Kyiv while the Nato summit continues.
The air raid alert in the city lasted for more than two hours, but there were no initial reports of casualties or damage.
“A total of 15 kamikaze drones were involved in the strike. Eleven of them were destroyed in the areas of responsibility of the centre and east air commands,” Ukraine’s air force said on social media.
The statement did not say if other drones were shot down in other parts of Ukraine.
Igor Taburets, the governor of the Cherkasy region in central Ukraine, said two people were hospitalised with burns after a drone hit a non-residential building, sparking a fire.
“Cherkasy was on alert for more than three and a half hours,” he said.
Sunak meets with President Zelensky
Rishi Sunak met President Zelensky this morning, as western leaders try to ease his disappointment over the decision not to give Ukraine a firm timeline for joining Nato.
The prime minister is attending the Nato leaders’ summit in Vilnius, where a joint communiqué fell short of Zelensky’s hopes of a firmer invitation to join the alliance.
Zelensky denounced the “absurd” decision not to give Ukraine a timeline as he was met by rapturous crowds in the Lithuanian capital, which was part of the Soviet Union until 1990.
Ukraine will be given new security assurances as part of a deal signed with G7 countries. Sunak has announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine that will include more than 70 combat and logistics vehicles, as well as a new batch of shells tipped with depleted uranium to use in Challenger 2 tanks. President Putin has previously said Russia would be “forced to react” if the UK gave armour-piercing shells to Ukraine.
Sunak said: “As Ukraine makes strategic progress in their counteroffensive, and the degradation of Russian forces begins to infect Putin’s front line, we are stepping up our formal arrangements to protect Ukraine for the long term.
“Supporting their progress on the pathway to Nato membership, coupled with formal, multilateral, and bilateral agreements and the overwhelming support of Nato members will send a strong signal to President Putin and return peace to Europe.”
China reacts angrily after Nato statement
China has reacted furiously after Nato allies agreed a much stronger statement than expected denouncing Beijing’s “coercive policies” (George Grylls writes).
Few had been expecting the joint communiqué to go further than the statement last year, which was the first time that China had been mentioned in a Nato summit text.
The statement from the 2022 summit said: “We face systemic competition from those, including the People’s Republic of China, who challenge our interests, security, and values and seek to undermine the rules-based international order.”
But with Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan all attending the leaders’ summit in Vilnius, this year’s communiqué has gone much further.
It reads: “The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values. We remain open to constructive engagement with the PRC, including to build reciprocal transparency, with a view to safeguarding the Alliance’s security interests. We continue to be confronted by cyber, space, hybrid and other asymmetric threats, and by the malicious use of emerging and disruptive technologies.”
China said the statement was a distorted reflection of Beijing’s position and was a deliberate attempt to discredit China.
G7 nations to announce ‘Israel-style’ security guarantees for Ukraine
The G7 group of developed nations is expected to announce a package of “Israel-style” security guarantees for Ukraine today, including pledges to supply state-of-the-art armaments, intelligence and military training (Oliver Moody writes).
However, the organisation is likely to stop short of promising to come to Ukraine’s defence if it is attacked again.
There is a degree of nervousness in the alliance that President Zelensky could repeat his trenchant criticisms of its unspecified “conditions” for Ukraine’s accession during a series of meetings with Nato leaders at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius today.
• Read more: Zelensky attacks ‘vague’ Nato offer
Yesterday he accused Nato of showing his country a lack of respect by failing to provide a clear timetable or threshold for Ukraine to achieve membership.
Today Zelensky will attend the first session of the new Nato-Ukraine council set up to oversee this process, as well as bilateral meetings with President Biden and Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance’s secretary general.
US considers long-range missiles for Ukraine
The US is weighing up whether to send Ukraine long-range missiles capable of striking strategic targets such as ammunition depots and command centres deep behind enemy lines (Oliver Moody writes).
For many months Kyiv has been appealing to Washington to give it Army Tactical Missile Systems (Atacms), surface-to-surface ballistic missiles whose 190-mile range dramatically outstrips that of the Himars rockets America has already supplied.
They would serve a similar military role to the air-launched Storm Shadow missiles donated by the UK, which are believed to have proved useful in Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive. On Tuesday France said it would also deliver its own version of the system, known as Scalp.
Up to now, the US has resisted calls to follow suit, in part because it wishes to preserve its own limited stocks of Atacms and in part because officials had worried that Ukrainian strikes on Crimea might precipitate an escalation from Russia.
Now, however, the White House is reconsidering, according to a report in the New York Times.
Baltic politicians say Nato ‘lacks courage and leadership’ over Ukraine
Several senior politicians in Nato’s Baltic member states have criticised the alliance for stopping short of giving Ukraine a clear timetable for membership (Oliver Moody writes).
Yesterday President Zelensky castigated Nato after it reiterated its 15-year-old promise that Ukraine would ultimately join but said this would only happen once “allies agree and conditions are met”.
Zygimantas Pavilionis, head of the Lithuanian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, described Nato’s announcement as “appeasement, [which] normally leads to final defeat”.
Linas Linkevicius, Lithuania’s former foreign and defence minister, wrote on Twitter: “Very sad that Nato has lacked courage and leadership. If any of the leaders were offended by Zelensky’s harsh criticism, then the president of Ukraine has ten times more reason to be offended.”
Riho Terras, a conservative politician and former head of the Estonian armed forces, said the outcome had been a “serious disappointment” that left Ukraine in a vulnerable “gray zone” and would encourage Russia.
“This is a signal to Russia that as long as hostilities continue, Ukraine will not be able to join Nato, which in turn will give Putin an additional motivation to continue the war of attrition — Russia has the cannon fodder,” Terras told ERR, Estonia’s public broadcaster.
