The US and a number of other NATO allies will send in the next months to Ukraine dozens of air defense systems, including at least four Patriot systems, which Kiev is demanding to counter a Russian invasion, according to a new joint agreement announced last night by US President Joe Biden. On this occasion, in the "Washington Post" points out that even with the opening of the NATO summit, Biden promised support for Ukraine. The newspaper quoted the American president as saying that the promise to send five air defense systems from Germany, Italy, Romania, the Netherlands and the United States to Kiev is just one of the elements of NATO's campaign to help the country hold off Russia's advance, BTA writes. .
Under the headline "As US elections approach, Zelensky tries to find a balance" the American in. "Wall Street Journal" commented that at the summit of the leaders of the NATO member countries in Washington, the Ukrainian president again insisted on more help, but at the same time he also recognized the political realities.
According to the newspaper, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, facing uncertain results from the US elections in November and with no clear path to possible NATO membership for his country, made a call to leaders in his speech at the start of the NATO summit last night of the US to take a traditional approach to the matter.
Another American newspaper, the "New York Times", notes that Biden is trying to overcome his problems by opening the NATO summit with a warning to Putin. The summit in Washington, which is supposed to give an expression of confidence in the newly expanded North Atlantic Alliance, has started with a glittering celebration, but without talking about the political danger facing the current US President Joe Biden.
The French in. "Mond" commented that the threat of Donald Trump returning to the White House in January 2025 darkens the outlook for the future. But the main urgent task before the 32 member countries of the North Atlantic alliance is to agree on the terms of their commitment to Ukraine, which is still involved in a defensive war against Russia.
Under the headline "NATO allies pledge long-term support for Ukraine, but no talk of membership" newspaper asks if Ukraine should be promised a "bridge" or even better, "irreversible path" while they are still searching for the right terms.
V. "Mond" quoted a senior US official as saying the goal was to "institutionalize the long-term trajectory" with regard to Ukraine, by supporting its military and strengthening its air defenses, while also encouraging the development of its military industrial base. The aim is to ensure that Ukraine is ready to join NATO from "day one" when there will be a "consensus". among member countries on this matter.
The French newspaper recalls that last Friday, July 5, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg indicated that since the beginning of the war, alliance members have spent a total of $43 billion a year on providing military aid to Ukraine. Supporters of Kiev hope that these efforts will continue until 2025. However, Trump has promised that if he wins the election, he will achieve peace between Ukraine and Russia already during the presidential transition period, that is, even before entering the White House , notes in. "Mond" and adds that President Biden "blocks" Ukraine's membership in NATO.
A long-term alliance mission should be established at the Washington summit to coordinate this assistance to Kiev. In particular, the mission will organize arms supplies and training. But this initiative has more in common with logistics than with geopolitics, comments in "Mond". The U.S. still opposes Ukraine joining NATO in the short or medium term, as well as any kind of binding timetable, the newspaper noted.
Keir Starmer resolutely went about his "firm commitment" to increase Britain's defense spending to 2.5 percent, but met resistance from the military because it failed to set a timetable for fulfilling this promise, the British newspaper "The Independent" noted today.
The newspaper said the new British prime minister had left for the NATO summit in Washington with his wife Victoria, the first international visit since Starmer won the country's general election last week.
Under the headline "We must be ready: Keir Starmer orders comprehensive review of British armed forces numbers amid chilling threats from Vladimir Putin in Russia" another British newspaper, the Daily Mirror, said that on the way to the summit, Britain's new prime minister had ordered a strategic defense review to begin next week. The review is to assess the threats the country faces, including from Vladimir Putin, and will decide how best to organize and equip its armed forces.
This will also include a plan for how Britain can meet the target of spending 2.5% of its gross domestic product on defence. In previous such reviews, decisions have been made about the number of British military personnel, as well as what warships and aircraft the Royal Armed Forces have at their disposal, the paper said.
The British "Financial Times" claims that the type of Russian missile that struck the children's hospital in Kyiv used Western components. The Kremlin has turned to microprocessors and other technologies not intended for military use to circumvent sanctions, the newspaper said, adding that the US will send another Patriot air defense missile battery to Ukraine.
With the situation in Ukraine at a standstill after Vladimir Putin's Russian army bombed a children's hospital and Volodymyr Zelensky's forces warned they were running out of ammunition, the current summit of NATO leaders in Washington has been identified as the most important since the beginning of the Russian invasion, concluded in. "Independent".