The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, discussed over the phone the measures to be taken in view of the imminent start of the spring campaign in the Ukrainian war, especially in the months of May and June.
According to a statement by the Ukrainian Presidency, Zelensky “reported in detail the situation at the front and the prospects for evolution” during the more than hour-long conversation with the French president.
The Ukrainian head of state also explained the “priority needs of the Ukrainian armed forces” after several weeks of asking his international allies for more military equipment, including ammunition, to defend against Russian attacks.
The two leaders also discussed preparations for the NATO Summit in Vilnius (Lithuania) on 11 and 12 July, “in which firm and concrete decisions will be taken on the security guarantees for the country and the process of inviting Ukraine to join NATO will be launched,” the presidency statement said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba said this week Ukraine’s admission to the Vilnius summit would be “historic”although he acknowledged that the country would settle for less ambitious steps, such as joining NATO. “It would be an achievement,” he said, according to news agency Ukrinform.
“Our ambition is to go as far as possible to achieve this goal. If we were to be admitted to NATO at the Vilnius Summit, that would be completely historic, but even if we were to take a major step towards membership, we consider it an achievement.”, stated.
Source: DN
