At a celebration commemorating 75 years of NATO, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated a commitment that he knew would provoke controversy, from the halls of Congress to the walls of the Kremlin.
Established in the aftermath of World War II, NATO operated as a check against Soviet aggression and to help integrate West Germany into democratic Europe. After two decades of nation-building, the military alliance has refocused on its original mission due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (RELATED: Report: Russian Unit Secretly Making US Officials Sick)
Despite the celebrations, the atmosphere at the festivities was tense, with Ukraine embroiled in an increasingly desperate battle of attrition. The 32-nation alliance is facing a crucial decision: whether to provide more predictable military aid to Kyiv, risking Vladimir Putin's wrath, or watching Ukraine lose to its much larger Russian neighbor.
Amid ammunition shortages, mounting casualties, and uncertainty about the size and scope of an aid package grinding its way through the U.S. House of Representatives, Blinken promised that Ukraine would eventually join NATO under Article 5. (RELATED: Speaker Johnson Signals Shift On Ukraine To Senators)
The administration's promise sparked intense reactions.
“Ukraine will become a member of NATO. Our purpose at the summit is to help build a bridge to that membership,” Blinken told reporters in Brussels.
Blinken's remarks came after a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting.
“Of course, we believe that Ukraine deserves to be a member of NATO and that this should happen sooner rather than later,” Kuleba said.
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The alliance is debating a plan to provide more military assistance to Ukraine as Russia asserts more control on the battlefield.
Russian forces had inflicted an estimated 190,000 casualties (70,000 killed, 120,000 wounded) on the Ukrainian Armed Forces as of August 2023. Despite Russia enduring at least 350,000 casualties (dead, wounded, missing, captured), Ukraine's losses are much more challenging, with a population one-quarter that of Russia, to replace.
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