NATO Military Committee Chair Giuseppe Cavo Dragone met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 8 during his visit to Ukraine. The two toured a long-range weapons plant and held a meeting to discuss ongoing military assistance.
Ukraine has relied on NATO in its defense against Russia's full-scale invasion. Ukraine consistently voices its intentions to join the military alliance and regularly holds visits and summits with NATO leaders.
Zelensky and Dragone met to discuss preparations for the next Ramstein format meeting and Ukraine's defense needs.
"We are grateful to NATO for its support of Ukraine from the very beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. Thank you very much for your first mission and decision to be in Ukraine," Zelensky said.
Zelensky and Dragone discussed strengthened coordination of military assistance within the Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) framework, a command plan designed to allocate and coordinate military assistance to Ukraine.
"The message I would like to convey not only to you but to everyone is that NATO is on your side. We are determined to fulfill all our commitments and to defend all the values and principles that we share," Dragone said on Feb. 8.
Dragone and Zelensky further discussed direct investment in Ukrainian arms production following the "Danish model" of financing in a visit to a long-range missiles plant.
The Danish model of financing aims to more effectively utilize military spending by funding domestic weapons production amid restrictions on foreign long-range weapons.
Sonya Bandouil
