Zelenskyy: Ukrainians and Europeans won’t understand if there is no invitation for Ukraine to join Alliance at NATO summit in Vilnius

Most Ukrainians and Europeans will not understand NATO leaders if an invitation for Ukraine to join the Alliance is not voiced at the Vilnius summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message on Thursday.

“In fact, the talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg were devoted to the same thing today in Kyiv. Defense of Ukraine. Protection of the entire rules-based international order. Protection of life,” he said.

"We are preparing for the Ramstein meeting, and Mr. Stoltenberg's position is important. We are preparing for our active actions at the front: they are inevitable. We are preparing for the NATO summit in Vilnius, which is scheduled for this summer," Zelenskyy said.

But its content, he said, "is already being worked out at such meetings, in contacts of various levels that we conduct with our partners."

"Neither the majority of Ukrainians, nor the majority of Europeans, nor the majority of residents of the entire NATO space will understand the leaders of the Alliance if a well-deserved political invitation for Ukraine to join the Alliance is not voiced at this summit in Vilnius," the president said.

According to him, Ukraine has done everything to ensure that its application was satisfied. "It's hard to even say whose contribution is greater to European Euro-Atlantic security than our soldiers … Ukrainians defending freedom with their lives. I thank all the partners who support us in this," he also said.