Mark Rute arrived in Ukraine today for his first official visit after assuming the post of Secretary General of NATO two days ago and promised continued support for Kiev.
In Kiev, Rute met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and promised to help gather Western support for Ukraine, which has been fighting the Russian invasion since February 2022.
Rute said that he can work with whoever is elected president of the United States in November, on which aid to Ukraine depends.
Zelensky said that, ahead of the NATO meeting in Germany next Sunday, he discussed elements of the so-called "Plan for the Victory of Ukraine" with Ruta and reiterated that Ukraine needs more weapons, including the long-range ones it has been asking for for a long time.
Zelensky said the US and UK say Iran has supplied Russia with missiles and drones for use against Ukraine and urged Western countries to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range weapons to attack Russia.
Rute reiterated NATO's "unwavering support" for Ukraine, stressing that "Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before."
He said recent steps taken by NATO "built a bridge to NATO membership" for Ukraine, including 40 billion euros in financial aid, bilateral security agreements and the formation of a new NATO command to coordinate aid and training.
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