What does he promise? – New NATO Secretary General Rutte in Ukraine

Ukraine must continue to receive support in its fight against Russia because “its security is important for our security,” he warned at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev. The areas where Kiev needed further support and how NATO was working on these were discussed.

It is important that Rutte visits Kiev at the start of his mandate “to make it clear to all observers” that NATO is on Ukraine’s side. He also emphasized that the country is closer to the alliance than ever before. Ukraine will continue on this path until it becomes a member of NATO. Details of the visit were not released for security reasons, a NATO official said.

Ukraine wants to become a full NATO member
Zelensky emphasized in a post on X that Ukraine’s main goal is to become a full member of the alliance. In addition to strengthening Ukrainian air defenses, the topic of the talks was also the approval of the use of Western long-range weapons against targets on Russian territory. “Without long-range weapons, we cannot resist Russia, which uses such weapons. That is why we are so persistent,” Zelensky emphasizes. Above all, this also serves to protect the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, which are more important than ruins, he said, referring to the recent withdrawal of Ukrainian troops.

DThe situation on Thursday in Kharkiv:

Zelensky expressed disappointment at the lack of progress on NATO’s launch of Russian drones and missiles over Ukrainian territory, as requested by Kiev. “We are working on it. So far they are not ready,” the head of state said sadly.

Who is Mark Rutte?
Former Dutch Prime Minister Rutte took over the position of NATO Secretary General on Tuesday from Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, who had been in office for about ten years. Rutte was elected by the 32 NATO member states at the beginning of the summer. He would have to hold the top job for at least four years, after which his mandate could be extended.

Before he took office at NATO, Rutte had made it clear several times that he believed Ukraine should be able to use Western weapon systems against Russia without restrictions. During his term as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, it was also decided to provide Ukraine with Dutch F-16 fighter jets. Given its economic strength, the Netherlands was also one of the countries that provided the most military support to Ukraine under his leadership.