1 month Ago
For Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, Zelenskyy's presence could signal firm Western support while the country fights Russia's invasion. But the specifics of his attendance at the summit remain unclear, source in the alliance say.
U.S. and Hungary Express Concerns
Zelenskyy had received a warm welcome at last year's NATO Summit in Washington D.C. while U.S. President Joe Biden was in power, but the shift in American leadership has changed dynamics. Trump has adopted a more wary and combative posture toward Ukraine, and sources said the Trump administration was initially against having Zelenskyy come.
Hungary has also reportedly raised concerns about Ukraine's participating in events from the summit. Nevertheless, some European NATO members, including the Netherlands, have advocated that Zelenskyy take part in the event.
Before the Dutch cabinet fell, as caretaker head of government Dick Schoof supported the invitation, taking over the pro-Ukrainian course established by previous Prime Minister Mark Rutte - currently the Secretary General of NATO.
Timeline of Russia's and Ukraine's struggle over Crimea
The invitation comes as fighting continues. We recently hit many Russian planes and bases in a major Ukrainian drone strike. The Trump administration was not given notice of the operation.
Only days earlier, on May 25, Russia mounted a major airstrike in Ukraine, which elicited an unusually strong public rebuke from President Trump. Referring to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, he said, "I've known him a long time … but he's sending rockets into cities and he's killing a lot of people, and I don't like it all."
Zelenskyy, whose arrival and departure times for Tuesday were not made public, may take some part of the summit's remaining schedule that features meetings with defense and foreign ministers, or participate in bilateral meetings on the sidelines, or an informal dinner to be hosted by NATO's Secretary General and a dinner with NATO leaders to be hosted for them by King Willem-Alexander.
