Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever, Mark Rutte says during Kyiv visit

euronews (in English)

In an unannounced trip to Ukraine's capital Thursday, the new NATO secretary general reiterated the alliance's pledge to continue bolstering military and financial support for Ukraine.

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00:00NATO's new Secretary-General Mark Rutte has made a surprise visit to Ukraine, his first

00:06official trip since he took office on Tuesday.

00:12Rutte held a joint press conference with President Zelensky in Kiev, during which he stressed

00:17the urgency of increased military and financial assistance to the war-torn country.

00:23We know the need is urgent, and we are working hard to do more and more quickly.

00:30In the last few weeks, several Allies announced further military aid for Ukraine, including

00:36new contributions from Denmark, from Latvia, the United Kingdom, and nearly $8 billion

00:44of assistance from the United States.

00:48Supporting Ukraine and replenishing our own stocks means increasing industrial production,

00:55and that will be a priority for me.

00:58The NATO chief also announced a new command to coordinate security assistance and training

01:03and to advance Ukraine's NATO membership, which he says is closer than ever.

01:09Meanwhile, Zelensky confirmed Ukraine's readiness to join the alliance.

01:15Ukraine can become the 33rd country of NATO.

01:18Ukrainians deserve this, in our opinion.

01:21And today we discussed in detail the prospects of cooperation, the key guidelines that can

01:27strengthen us, Ukraine, the alliance, can strengthen our cooperation.

01:32Zelensky also said he discussed elements of Ukraine's so-called victory plan with Rutte

01:38before a NATO meeting at the German Rammstein airbase next week.

01:44For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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