Six retired generals of NATO member countries have signed a letter ahead of the Alliance summit in Vilnius, to be held on 11-12 July, calling for the opening of the way to NATO membership for Ukraine as soon as possible.

According to LIGA.net, the open letter to the leaders and governments of the member countries of the Alliance emphasises the need for the member countries of NATO to honour their commitments to Kyiv, made in 2008 in Bucharest, that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance in the future.

"It is time for NATO countries to fulfil this promise," the signatories emphasised.

The former generals emphasised that NATO member states should define a specific roadmap for Ukraine's membership in the Alliance "in the near future".

The letter also recalls that Kyiv officially applied for NATO membership on 30 September 2022, and therefore the Alliance must now help Ukraine fulfil its obligations as a permanent member of NATO.

"This is the only possible way to guarantee peace in Europe in the face of ruthless Russian aggression," the signatories are convinced.

Authors of the letter: Riho Terras, General of the Estonian Army and former Chief of Defence of Estonia; Mieczysław Gotsul, General of the Polish Army and former Chief of Defence of Poland; Raimonds Graube, General of the Latvian Army and former Chief of Defence of Latvia; Vytautas Jonas Žukas, General of the Lithuanian Army and former Chief of Defence of Lithuania; Ben Hodges, US Army General and former commander of US forces in Europe; and Michael Repass, US Army General and former head of US Special Operations Command in Europe.

On the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius, 46 reputable Western experts, military officers and diplomats, including former US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun and US State Department Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker, have signed a letter calling for Ukraine to be given a roadmap to NATO membership as soon as possible.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine really needs security guarantees – not as an alternative to membership but while Ukraine is not a NATO member.

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