LONDON – Ahead of his July 9 arrival in Kyiv, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the Kyiv Post that the main aim of his visit is to underscore the 29-nation alliance’s steadfast support for Ukraine to prevail against Russia’s ongoing aggression.
NATO will convey “strong political support” and offer “strong practical support” in helping the nation build its institutions, including its armed forces.
Stoltenberg will arrive as Ukraine’s political leaders have finally and formally decided that joining NATO is a top foreign policy goal, dropping the official previous commitment to a non-aligned status.
While Stoltenberg defended NATO’s longstanding principle that sovereign nations are free to seek NATO membership, he said that Ukraine hasn’t progressed enough in its transformation.
‘Ukraine has a long way to go’
“I strongly believe that Ukraine is dedicated and committed to the path of reform,” Stoltenberg told the Kyiv Post. “But Ukraine has a long way to go. It’s not easy to modernize defenses in war. It takes times to modernize armed forces and it’s a huge task to fight corruption.”
But his assessment is that “Ukraine is making progress and NATO will be there to provide support,” Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg said that corruption has to be “fought all the time and at all levels of society.” He said that he’s encouraged by the establishment of new anti-corruption institutions, but that Ukraine needs to show results in the corruption fight, which requires strong political will.
Stoltenberg said that he brings no fresh ideas for getting Russia to call off its war against Ukraine, now in its fourth year. The fighting has claimed 10,000 lives and cost the nation some $50 billion in damages and economic losses, according to Ukrainian government estimates.
Western patience, unity
He said that the West must remain patient, united and “show resolve.” He thinks that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not “expect the unity” he encountered from the West in opposing his illegal annexation of Crimea and his efforts to destabilize Ukraine’s eastern industrial Donbas regions.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko last month estimated that 3,000 Russian troops inside Ukraine are leading a proxy force of 40,000 fighters, with another 60,000 Russian troops massed near Ukraine’s borders, ready to be deployed.
Without getting into specific numbers, Stoltenberg said that Poroshenko’s description of Russia’s heavy direct involvement in the war is “consistent with our assessment.”
Ukraine has suffered serious blows in the last month, including car bomb assassinations killing top military officials and cyber-attacks affecting major businesses and government institutions. The attacks show Ukraine’s continuing vulnerabilities and penetration of its military forces by Russian special agents. Ukraine’s ongoing needs have prompted Deputy Prime Minister Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, speaking at a July 5 conference in London, to ask Western partners to stop hesitating in supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons, financial aid and in supporting stronger sanctions against Russia.
Stoltenberg acknowledged Ukraine’s sacrifices “on the front line” as a target of Russia, in which Ukraine suffers almost daily casualties.
NATO support
“What NATO can do is support,” the secretary general said.
While NATO does not provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, the alliance has set up several trust funds with 48 million euros available to improve Ukraine’s capacities in several areas: the so-called 4C — command, control, communications and computers; logistics and standardization; cyber defense, medical rehabilitation and military career transition.
In London, speaking on June 6 at a U.K. government-sponsored Ukraine Reform Conference, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General James Appathurai underscored Stoltenberg’s assessment of Ukraine’s unfinished transformation.
Appathurai said that Ukraine needs to show improvement in taking political ownership of reforms, improving governance, overcoming vested interests and creating an institutional culture that rewards initiative. NATO officials “see progress in all areas,” he noted, and said Ukraine’s eventual success will be “a major contribution to security for all of us here in Europe.”
20th anniversary of NATO-Ukraine Charter
In Kyiv, Stoltenberg will conduct two days of meetings to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the NATO-Ukraine Charter on a Distinctive Partnership.
Stoltenberg will meet with Poroshenko and hold a joint press conference on July 10. He will also meet with Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and address the Verkhovna Rada. The North Atlantic Council, NATO’s policymaking body, and the NATO-Ukraine Commission will meet. The last time the North Atlantic Council met in Ukraine was in 2008. The official agenda can be found here.
Stoltenberg will christen a new headquarters for the NATO Representative Office in Ukraine at 4L Ihor Sykorsky Aircraft Designer St., near the U. S. Embassy in Ukraine. NATO has about 50 employees working in its Liaison Office, headed by Alexander Vinnikov, and its NATO Information and Documentation Center, headed by Barbora Maronkova.
‘Some barriers persist’
Stoltenberg will also open an exhibition at Mystetskyi Arsenal, 10-12 Lavrska St. in Kyiv, on the morning of July 10. The exhibition will be open to the public through July 30.
According to a NATO press release issued for the event: “The past 20 years of cooperation are in stark contrast to the period of 1949-1991, when NATO and Ukraine were on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain. However, despite the end of the Cold War and the fall of Berlin Wall, some barriers persist in people’s minds. While Ukrainian perceptions of NATO have changed significantly, big differences remain. Some still see the Alliance as an ‘aggressive military bloc,’ others think it can be ‘a panacea for all the problems of Ukraine.’ Neither extremes are accurate. Though stereotypes about NATO are sometimes nourished by false information and lack of information is equally important. This anniversary provides an opportunity to look back, learn more, provide insights into the path taken and decide how to move forward. The Alliance has changed significantly since its foundation in 1949, and so has Ukraine for the years of its independence. This exhibition highlights the key events that shaped these changes.”
