Ukraine disappointed with Nato

The two-day Nato summit at Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, ended on Wednesday, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had to be content with assurances from Nato that it will continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russia. Zelensky was not however satisfied by Nato’s statement and he thought it was absurd that Ukraine was not given a time-line as to when it could become a member of the Western military alliance.

The more credible support for Ukraine came from the G7 group that it will offer long-term assistance to Ukraine in the war against Russia. Among the G7, Japan is the only non-Nato member. United States President Joe Biden said at a press meeting with Zelensky standing beside him, “Our support will last long into the future. It’s a powerful statement of our commitment to Ukraine.” The fact is that Nato has hedged its bets as it were, and G7 had to step in to assure Ukraine that Kyiv is not alone and it should not feel abandoned. It is understandable that Zelensky feels let down but there is not much that he can do about it. He put on a brave face when he tweeted: “I believe we will be in Nato once the security situation stabilises. Put simply, when the war is over.”

The G7 support for Ukraine is crucial because the United States is pulling out all the stops to help Ukraine, both financially and militarily. It should come as a matter of surprise that Nato has been hesitating, or at least prevaricating of admitting Ukraine into its ranks.

There seems to be the sense in Nato that this is not the right time to admit Ukraine into the group, though Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine was closer to Nato than ever before. It was President Biden again who had to articulate the position of the Western alliance when he told Zelensky: “Your resilience and your resolve has been a model for the whole world to see. I look forward to the day when we’re having the meeting celebrating your official membership in Nato.” It seems that Nato wants to show that it is fully supportive of Ukraine and that Russia cannot wish away the presence of Nato. But Nato is not willing to risk and open a full-scale war against Russia.

It is mainly the United States and the United Kingdom who are paying the war bills of Ukraine, while the Ukrainian people pay the actual price of the war with their lives and the destruction of their cities and their economic base. Even after the war ends, and it seems a long way off, it will be a long time before Ukrainians recover from the trauma of the Russian invasion. And it is not an easy thing to do.

Meanwhile, the Russians continue to fret over Western support for Ukraine, and Moscow’s apprehension of Nato too persists. A year into the war, both Russia and Ukraine realise that there are no clear winners, and it is indeed a war of attrition. It appears that Russians are keener to get to the negotiating table because Russian occupation of Crimea and other eastern parts of Ukraine continues. The Ukrainians for their part will not be talking peace until they have pushed back the Russians to the pre-February 24, 2022 positions.

Zelensky is keen to retrieve Crimea from Russia but it looks unlikely. The Russians are more confident of their position in eastern Ukraine because of the Russian-speaking population there. It is a complicated position and both sides recognise it. Even Nato and members of the G7 know it. That is why, they are all stating their positions in the most general terms.