The U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said on Oct. 16. The U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, said on October 16.
“I believe NATO’s position is very clear on this issue. At the 75th Anniversary Summit this summer, we stated that Ukraine was on an irreversible road to membership and that Ukraine would become a member. We are not in a stage where the Alliance will be discussing an invitation in the near future,” Smith said before a NATO defense meeting in Brussels.
Smith added, “But as always, we’ll continue to talk with our friends in Ukraine on how they can move towards the Alliance.”
Smith’s remarks come as President Volodymyr Zelensky unveiled his five point victory plan. The list included Ukraine’s invitation for NATO to be placed at the top.
Zelensky, in the presence Commander-in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budaynov, as well as Western diplomats, said in the Parliament: “If the plan gets support, we can end this war no later than the next year.”
Kyiv submitted its membership application in September 2022. In July 2024, the alliance confirmed Ukraine’s “irreversible journey to full Euro-Atlantic Integration, including NATO membership”. Ukraine, however, has not yet received any definitive news regarding its future accession.
According to information obtained by The Kyiv Independent Kyiv planned to ask for NATO Membership within months, not years.
The Financial Times (FT), citing an anonymous Western official, reported on October 1, that U.S. president Joe Biden could agree to advance Ukraine’s NATO bid before he leaves office in January. It is not clear whether Smith’s remarks indicate a possible shift in policy by the Biden Administration.
According to Zelensky who has repeatedly urged partners to issue an invitation to Kyiv to join NATO, Ukraine will only join NATO after the full-scale Russian war ends.
Voice of America reported that Smith stated, “We are not in a stage where the Alliance will be discussing issuing an invite in the near future.” Smith spoke ahead of a NATO meeting of defense ministers in Brussels.
The Guardian reported that U.K. counterterrorism officials are investigating if Russian intelligence agents planted an incendiary inside a package that caught fire in a warehouse near Birmingham. The Guardian reported on Oct. 16 that U.K. counter-terrorism officials are investigating whether Russian intelligence officers planted an incendiary device inside a parcel that caught fire at a warehouse near Birmingham.
Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, announced that the next Ukraine-NATO Council meeting is scheduled for October 17. The meeting will include defense ministers of NATO member states and Ukraine’s Rustem Umerov, the country’s Minister of Defense.
The White House released a statement saying that the new package would include “additional capabilities in air defense, air-to ground munitions, armored cars, and critical munitions for Ukraine’s urgent requirements.”
According to unnamed sources cited by RBC-Ukraine, the individual in question is Oleh Hrybenko. He is reportedly responsible, according to the media outlet, for maintaining the security at critical infrastructure facilities.
The tanks will be part of a larger package worth 245 million Australian Dollars ($163 millions).
It wasn’t the first time that missiles and drone debris were found on Moldovan soil.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he would “if asked” speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but that no decisions would take place without the input from Ukraine or other Western Allies.
The Defense Ministry stated that the drone is resistant to electronic warfare from Russia and can adjust artillery fire thanks to its “high-tech materials”.
In an interview published by Tengrinews.kz on October 16, a government spokeswoman said that Kazakhstan’s President has “carefully” considered proposals to join BRICS, but Astana won’t seek to join “in the near future”.
According to HUR’s report, Ukrainian soldiers captured an area of Russian battalion defence, destroyed three motorized-rifle battalions, Storm platoons, and a reconnaissance unit of Russia’s Seventh Separate Motorized Rifle Regiment.
Ukrenergo, the state-owned energy provider in Ukraine, said later that day that the outages had been caused by “technical” reasons that were not specified and that repairs were underway. The energy supply will resume “within a few hours.”
CNN reported on October 16 that U.S. president Joe Biden will meet with the leaders of Germany France and the U.K. later this week in Berlin after his earlier trip was postponed because of Hurricane Milton.
Sebastien Lecornu, French Defense Minister, said on October 16 that France has successfully tested its first kamikaze drones and will deliver these to Ukraine “in upcoming weeks”.
After a conversation with his counterpart in the U.K., Tony Radakin Commander-in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that they discussed the possible of hitting Russian military objectives “in operational depth and strategic depth.”
In a media interview published Oct. 15, a Polish Minister said that Poland could condition Ukraine’s entry into the EU on the resolution of Volyn’s massacre, as joining the EU is not a question of survival for the country.
“Different capabilities; different wars; different regions.” Sabrina Singh, Pentagon spokesperson, said that the commitments to Israel and Ukraine were also different.
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