President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Brussels on Dec. 18 for talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, as Ukraine seeks to secure more air defense as well effective security guarantees from its Western allies.
Ukraine's allies have doubled down on economic and military support for Kyiv in attempts to strengthen the war-torn nation's hand before any potential peace talks.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Dec. 12 that the alliance is not ready for the threats it will face from Russia in the coming years, urging a shift to a wartime mindset with significantly higher defense spending.
NATO countries will do all they can to provide Ukraine with air defenses necessary to protect its infrastructure but there is no surplus of such systems, Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Dec. 4.
NATO's two-day ministerial meeting will focus on providing Ukraine with enough military aid to enable it to enter any possible negotiations from a position of strength, Secretary General Mark Rutte said ahead of the meeting in Brussels on Dec. 3.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has told U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that Washington would face a "dire threat" from China, Iran, and North Korea if Ukraine is forced to accept an unfavorable peace deal, the Financial Times reported on Dec. 2.
Key commitments from NATO's July summit in Washington, including air defense systems and other military support, have not yet been fully implemented, President Volodymyr Zelensky told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Nov. 27.
Rutte and Trump discussed a range of security issues facing NATO, according to the military alliance's press release.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also issued a stern warning regarding North Korea’s recent deployment of troops to support Russian forces, stating this "demands and will receive a firm response."
"We have to work together. So I look forward to sitting down with Donald Trump to discuss how we can face these threats collectively, what we need to do," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
"North Korea sending troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine would mark a significant escalation," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on social media following a conversation with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that the next meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council is scheduled for Oct. 17. The meeting will bring together defense ministers from NATO member states alongside Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
"The message (to Russian President Vladimir Putin) is that we will continue, that we will do what's necessary to make sure that he will not get his way, that Ukraine will prevail," Mark Rutte said during a joint interview with Reuters and German radio Hessischer Rundfunk on Oct. 13.
Key developments on Oct. 10: * Ukraine confirms strike on Russian airbase in North Caucasus housing Su-34, Su-27 jets * Zelensky presents victory plan to Starmer, meets NATO Secretary General Rutte * Kyiv confirms death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna held in Russian captivity * Oil depot in occupied Crimea's Feodosia burning for 4th
President Volodymyr Zelensky presented Ukraine's victory plan to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the former's visit to London on Oct. 10.
NATO's new Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Oct. 8 that Ukraine may be facing its most challenging winter since the start of the full-scale invasion, as the country prepares for more Russian attacks against energy infrastructure.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 3 that the decision of the Ukrainian military to withdraw from the front-line town of Vuhledar was "absolutely correct" as it helped save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.
Newly appointed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Kyiv on Oct. 3 for a surprise visit, NATO spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said.
"We have to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation," Mark Rutte said on Oct. 1.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will take over the position from current NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg when his ten-year term ends in October.
Romania was the last of the 32 NATO allies to support Rutte's candidacy, after Hungary and Slovakia endorsed Rutte on June 18.
Editor's note: This article has been updated in light of Mark Rutte becoming NATO secretary general on Oct. 1. "There was a joke I heard the other day," Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told the audience of a Politico event in November 2023, as the mandate of NATO Secretary General
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg endorsed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as his successor for the first time on June 18, describing him as a "very strong candidate."
Hungarian Prime Minister endorsed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's bid to be the next Secretary General of NATO, after Rutte said he supported Budapest opting out of NATO initiatives to support Ukraine, Orban announced on June 18.
The Netherlands allocated an additional one billion euros ($1.1 billion) in military aid and 400 million euros ($425 million) for renovation to assist Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 12 after the call with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The Dutch government has also set aside 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) for Ukraine for 2025.
A large amount of ammunition will be sent to Ukraine "in the near future" within the Czech-led initiative to provide Kyiv with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on March 22.
Kharkiv is not yet safe enough for residents to return to the city, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on March 1.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte signed a 10-year agreement on security cooperation between Ukraine and the Netherlands in Kharkiv, Zelensky announced on March 1.
France and the Netherlands back Czechia's plan to procure hundreds of thousands of ammunition rounds for Ukraine from outside the EU, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told journalists on Feb. 26.
The U.S. and the U.K. are endorsing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to become the next NATO Secretary General, according to media reports on Feb. 22, which cited officials in Washington D.C. and London.
The EU's collective economic power is by far superior to Russia, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told the Kyiv Independent on Feb. 17 in an interview at the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, adding that European nations must invest more in defense and support for Ukraine.
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