Zelenskyy-Stoltenberg talks: Ukraine expects new Patriots and €100 billion for defense

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated that he expects “positive results” regarding the supply of interceptor missiles for existing air defense systems and that Ukraine is still working with its allies to obtain additional Patriot systems. He stated this during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Kyiv. 

Zelenskyy noted that in the case of interceptor missiles for existing air defense systems, “positive things are expected,” and after the last meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, there were assurances that there would be no pauses in this process. 

“We are discussing the supply of additional Patriot systems. There are no strong specifics yet for what we expect from our partners. There are initial steps. We know what’s available in which countries; there are discussions on this topic. We are working on additional systems. I think that as soon as they are in Ukraine, which everyone expects, we will feel it in real sky protection,” Zelensky said.

• At the last Ramstein format meeting, Spain confirmed plans to send Ukrainian Patriot missiles.
• Belgium has pledged €200 million for Germany’s initiative to find air defense systems for Ukraine.

Stoltenberg: NATO will do everything it can to make Ukraine an Alliance member

Instead, Stoltenberg gave his assurance that NATO will make every effort to secure Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance, but he does not anticipate reaching an agreement at the July summit in Washington.

“We need a consensus from all 32 Alliance members to make this decision. There is no majority, but all 32 Alliance members must agree. “I do not expect that we will be able to reach such an agreement at the summit in July, but I think we will be able to demonstrate that we are bringing Ukraine closer to membership and that this day will come as soon as possible when Ukraine will become a full member of our Alliance,” Stoltenberg said.

However, Stoltenberg assured that “Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO.”

“Ukraine will become a NATO member. The work we are doing now is putting you on an irreversible path to NATO membership, so that when the time is right, Ukraine can become a NATO member,” the Secretary General stated.

Concept of a $100 billion fund for Ukraine

After meeting with the NATO Secretary General, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine welcomes the NATO Secretary General’s idea to create a €100 billion special fund to support Ukrainian defense but is interested in the details of such a fund.

Zelenskyy said that he and Jens Stoltenberg had discussed, among other things, the Secretary General’s idea to create a €100 billion special fund to support Ukraine for a period of 5 years.

“The allies really have the opportunity to implement such an initiative. Details are very important for us”, Zelenskyy stressed the importance of not sacrificing bilateral volumes, as outlined in our security guarantee agreements.

As part of a package that the leaders of the Alliance will sign at the summit in Washington, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg proposed to create a $100 billion fund of allied contributions over five years for Ukraine.