G7 countries have agreed a joint framework for providing long-term security pledges to Ukraine, a symbolic commitment that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said would help his country on its journey to becoming a Nato member.
But the promises to sustain existing financial and military support to Kyiv, drawn up as a signal to Moscow that western resolve will endure, fall short of Zelenskyy’s declared goal of winning an invitation to join the US-led military alliance and are more political gestures than concrete measures at this stage.
The commitments will be expensive and require consultations between leaders and their respective parliaments. While western officials said the framework was meant to outlast election cycles in participating countries, the plan contains no details on how to ensure they are ironclad, meaning it will almost certainly be vulnerable to volatile politics.
There is nothing in the statement stopping a Ukraine-sceptic such as former US president Donald Trump from changing course should he win re-election in 2024.
Supplies of “modern military equipment, across land, air, and sea domains”, training of Ukrainian forces, intelligence sharing and cyber defence assistance form the backbone of the pledges. In exchange, Kyiv would commit to reforms, including of its judiciary, and civilian control of the military.
The commitments came as Zelenskyy attended the summit of Nato leaders in Lithuania on Wednesday to drum up more support for his army as it battles Russia’s invasion.
“We understand that the best guarantee for Ukraine is to be in Nato. On our way to Nato, we would like the security guarantees and to have them permanently, so that they would make our relationship with [western] countries even more powerful,” Zelenskyy told reporters.
At the announcement, he repeatedly thanked the gathered leaders for the pledges, a marked shift in tone after he lashed out at Nato on his way to the summit, describing its decision not to offer Ukraine an invitation or a timeline to join the alliance as “absurd”.
On Wednesday, Zelenskyy said: “The Ukrainian delegation is bringing home a significant security victory for Ukraine, for our country, for our people, for our children.”
Non-G7 countries are also being encouraged to agree their own security commitments one-on-one with Ukraine.
“Today’s framework declaration and security guarantees will open up the possibility for strong bilateral commitments,” Zelenskyy added.
Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary-general, stood beside Zelenskyy at a press conference as he called for “credible arrangements in place for Ukraine’s security so history does not repeat itself”.
“I therefore welcome that many allies will today commit to providing long-term security assistance to Ukraine,” he said.
Zelenskyy was attending the inaugural meeting of the Ukraine-Nato council on Wednesday with the leaders of all 31 Nato states plus Sweden, which is in the process of joining.
US president Joe Biden said on Wednesday: “We’re going to help Ukraine build a strong capable defence across land, air and sea . . . and which will be a force of stability in the region and deter against any and all threats.”
The arrangements aim to formalise ad hoc announcements from western powers and assuage concerns from Ukraine and more hawkish Nato members, who want to see a concrete pathway for Kyiv to join the alliance.
Ever since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion last year, Nato has pointedly refrained from giving military aid to Ukraine as an alliance to avoid a direct conflict with Russia. Instead, it has left that decision to individual states.
Ukraine’s western allies have shelled out more than $160bn in military and financial support since the invasion. But the intensity of the conflict has required an ever-lengthening list of equipment for Kyiv’s fight against the Russian invaders, the latest and most controversial item being cluster munitions called DPICMs that the US agreed to send last week.
“You know, how they are [the Ukrainians]: within minutes of getting the DPICMs, they asked for ATACMS missiles,” Ben Wallace, the UK defence secretary said on Wednesday. “But we’re not Amazon,” he added, referring to the online shopping site.
A Nato statement released on Tuesday pledged to “extend an invitation” to Ukraine to join the alliance when “allies agree and conditions are met”. Zelenskyy criticised the statement, which he said would encourage Russia to keep attacking Ukraine as it did not make Kyiv’s future status clear.
Ukraine’s three priorities were “new support packages for our army on the battlefield, an invitation to Nato . . . when the security situation allows it” and the security guarantees, Zelenskyy said.
Later, he said he had spoken to German chancellor Olaf Scholz and secured an agreement for “additional Patriot [missile defence] systems and missiles”. He said they had discussed long-term co-operation “including the functioning of hubs for the repair of western equipment”.
The G7 powers will also expand training and military exercises and develop Ukraine’s industrial base, according to a British announcement of the programme. The security arrangements are unlikely to fully rectify disagreements on Ukraine’s future among Nato’s 31 members.