What does he promise?

New NATO Secretary General Rutte in Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visits Ukraine just two days after taking office. His aim: to make it clear to all observers that the military alliance stands behind the war-torn country.

Ukraine must continue to be supported in its fight against Russia because "its security is important for our security", he warned at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj in Kiev. They discussed the areas in which Kiev needed further support and the way in which NATO was working to provide it.

It was important for Rutte to visit Kiev at the beginning of his mandate "to make it clear to all observers" that NATO stands by Ukraine. He also emphasized that the country was closer to the alliance than ever before. Ukraine would continue on this path until it became a member of NATO. Details of the visit were not made public for security reasons, according to a NATO official.

Ukraine wants to become a full NATO member
Selenskyj emphasized in a post on X that Ukraine's most important goal is to become a full member of the alliance. In addition to strengthening Ukraine's air defenses, the talks also continued to focus on the release for the use of long-range Western weapons for targets on Russian territory. "Without long-range weapons, we cannot resist Russia using such weapons. That is why we are so persistent," emphasized Selensky. This also serves above all to protect the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, who are more important than ruins, he said with regard to recent withdrawals by Ukrainian troops.

The situation in Kharkiv on Thursday:

Selenskyj expressed his disappointment at the lack of progress on NATO shooting down Russian drones and missiles already over Ukrainian territory, as desired by Kiev. "We are working on it. So far, they are not ready," said the head of state gloomily.

Who is Mark Rutte?
Former Dutch Prime Minister Rutte took over the post of NATO Secretary General on Tuesday from Norway's Jens Stoltenberg, who had been in office for around ten years. Rutte was chosen by the 32 NATO member states in early summer. He is to hold the top post for at least four years, after which his mandate could be renewed.

Even before taking up his post at NATO, Rutte had already made it clear on several occasions that he believed Ukraine should be able to use Western weapons systems against Russia without restrictions. During his time in office as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, it was also decided to provide Ukraine with Dutch F-16 fighter jets. Taking economic power into account, the Netherlands was also one of the countries that provided the most military support to Ukraine under his leadership.