Ukrainian marines in a French-made AMX-10 RC armored fighting vehicle in Donetsk. NATO powers are preparing to offer Kyiv additional security guarantees, but will not allow full membership in the alliance. Photo: Anatoly Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images. military allies.
UK, US, France and Germany will take over a long-term plan to arm Kiev to defend against Russian aggression.
Guarantee talks continued on Monday as 31 NATO nations prepared to the annual summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the summit, where he is reportedly scheduled to meet with leaders including US President Joe Biden.
It comes after NATO leaders received a major boost on Monday when Turkey finally lifted its veto on Sweden's membership.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced the «historic step» following talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the eve of the summit.
NATO Allies
A new defense scheme for Ukraine will create a legally binding commitment to continue existing military support for Kiev, said diplomats who participated in the discussions.
Training for Ukrainian troops, intelligence sharing, and assistance in bringing Kiev's armed forces up to NATO standards will also be promised.
The proposal falls short of the timetable for full NATO membership requested by Ukraine, but is blocked by the US and Germany.
However, guarantees backed by the four major NATO military powers will be offered to Ukraine as a springboard to membership.Thus, the Quad was urged to hope that formalizing military support commitments would allow Zelensky not to leave the meeting empty-handed.
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, one of the leaders who blocked discussions on immediate membership, said that the Israeli model could play a 'major role' in the ongoing discussions.
Israel is not part of NATO, but the US contributes nearly $4bn (£3.1m) annually to help the state have a 'qualitative military advantage' » in the Middle East.
The pact is enshrined in a memorandum of understanding, which is updated every ten years. but does not include mandatory NATO-style commitments for countries to stand up for each other.
The defense agreement for Ukraine comes after a month of Kiev's counter-offensive, and its forces continue to press for a breakthrough against stiff Russian resistance.< /p> 
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday that the 500-Day War saw «the most heinous crimes and human tragedies.»
But he called on NATO to «come together like never before in support of Ukraine and with strong determination that Russia cannot succeed.»
«We need to continue this work this week,» he said.
«We cannot let the fog of war obscure the clear lessons that must internalize our alliance if we are to outmaneuver and outwit those who seek to harm us.»
Tweeted Monday night. The Prime Minister wrote:
This is a historic moment for NATO that makes us all safer.
Sweden, we look forward to welcoming you to the Alliance. https://t.co/6dIvgoxbfZ
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) July 10, 2023
On Tuesday, Mr Sunak will announce an eightfold increase in UK production of 155mm artillery ammunition thanks to a contract for 190 million pounds with BAE Systems.
< p>On Monday, Mr. Stoltenberg said that NATO leaders will “strengthen our support for Ukraine and bring Ukraine closer” to the alliance.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said NATO allies have agreed to abandon the action plan for membership is usually required of potential allies.
“This is also the best moment to bring clarity to the issue of inviting Ukraine to become a member,” he said in a statement, welcoming the decision.
Terms are subject to further development
Israel Military Support Package- In the weeks leading up to the military alliance summit, negotiations were held on a style agreement between London, Washington, Paris and Berlin.
The terms of the agreements are expected to be agreed with Kiev in the coming days , according to these sources. participates.
The pacts are likely to be contained in a declaration recognized and supported by NATO, the European Union and the G7.
Since Japan is participating in the Vilnius summit, sources have suggested that the leaders of the G7 countries could hold an informal meeting. meeting on the sidelines of the meeting to discuss how they could approve long-term plans to support Kiev.
Last month, the EU approved its own vision for a long-term security commitment to help Ukraine defend itself against the backbone of discussions among the Quad.
It is not clear if the commitments will go beyond the codification of current support levels.
Mr. Zelenskiy says he does not expect Ukraine to join NATO before the end of the current war, but considers membership the only guarantee Russia will not launch another invasion in the future.
He also argues that Ukraine's battle-tested army is significantly will strengthen NATO and reduce the burden on existing allies.
He indicated before the summit that he would not go to Vilnius unless significant steps were taken to achieve this goal.
Podcast Ukraine 07/10/2023
The Telegraph understands that removing the requirement for a membership action plan was seen in Kiev as the minimum measure that can be taken as progress.
The plan is an open program of political and military reforms designed to bring potential NATO members into compliance with alliance standards.
>Skipping it can shorten the application process from decades to months. The UK, Poland and the Baltic states have actively lobbied for the move as a signal of commitment to Ukraine's eventual membership.
France said it would support the move last month, which changed its stance significantly, but the US and Germany signaled they would veto any language suggesting that Ukraine would be given a fast track to membership.
The talks focused on a model similar to US support for Israel after it became clear that Washington and Berlin would not approve the timing of Ukraine's entry into NATO.
Discussions are «far from over»
On Monday, Mr. Scholz said: “The US President's proposal is not entirely new, but it plays an important role and also gives a small idea of what it could be. , For example. But the discussion is far from over.”
A senior source in the German government said: “I would also like to emphasize that this summit is not the time to invite Ukraine to take concrete steps towards membership. There is no consensus on this issue even among the allies.”
Developing an Israeli-style scheme for Ukraine would help its military become fully compatible with NATO systems, bringing it one step closer to joining the alliance.< /p>
The strength of the US-Israeli security relationship is underpinned by a unique level of bipartisanship domestic political consensus in Washington and Israel's unrecognized possession of nuclear weapons.
Ukraine does not have nuclear weapons, and many observers fear that US support for its cause could wane if Donald Trump returns to the presidency next year.< /p>
Kiev's most ardent supporters, such as Poland and the Baltic states, argue that Article 5 — NATO's mutual defense clause — is the only real guarantee that can be offered to Kiev to deter future acts of Russian aggression.
European diplomat said that Washington «does not want to confuse discussions about NATO's prospects with guarantees, so guarantees can only be agreed upon after the summit.»
Washington is said to be wary of confusing bilateral guarantees with future membership discussions that US President Joe Biden says could be seen as a provocation by Moscow.
As another show of support for Kiev, NATO will hold the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council on Wednesday.
In accordance with its new elevated status, Ukraine will be a full-fledged participant in joint meetings with the alliance, and will not be invited for specific discussions.
Kyiv will be given an equal seat at the negotiating table. opportunity to call for «crisis consultations» but not Article 5, which is only available to member states.
However, some Ukrainian officials have dismissed the creation of a «council» that would replace the existing Ukraine-NATO Commission as empty symbolism.
They also questioned the logic of NATO, which formally puts Ukraine on a par with Russia — the Russia-NATO Council was formed in 2002.
Ukraine was first offered NATO membership at alliance summit in 2008 in Bucharest.
The promise was made without a specific path or timetable, which critics say displeased Moscow but did not provide real security for Ukraine, and encouraged Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, to to launch its first invasion of the country in 2014.
Mr Kuleba told The Telegraph last month that Ukraine «won't accept» any proposal from NATO that would seem to repeat this hoax.
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