NATO allies offer Ukraine security assurances as Biden hits out at Putin

President Joe Biden accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having a “craven lust for land and power” at the end of a NATO summit on Wednesday where Ukraine won new security assurances from the US and its allies for its defense against Moscow.

Members of the world’s most powerful military bloc offered the prospect of long-term protection a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy decried as “absurd” a refusal to offer an invitation or timetable for Ukraine’s entry into NATO.

Ukraine has been pushing for rapid membership while fighting a Russian invasion unleashed in February 2022 that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, Reuters reported.

Instead, a declaration by the G7 group of the world’s most industrialized countries launched a framework for bilateral negotiations to provide military and financial support, intelligence sharing and a promise of immediate steps if Russia should attack again.

“Our support will last long into the future. It’s a powerful statement of our commitment to Ukraine,” Biden said alongside Zelenskiy and leaders of the G7, which is made up of the U.S., Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Speaking in Vilnius, Lithuania, at the end of the two-day meeting on Russia’s doorstep, Biden said Putin had badly underestimated the resolve of the U.S.-led military alliance.

“NATO is stronger, more energized and yes, more united than ever in its history. Indeed, more vital to our shared future. It didn’t happen by accident. It wasn’t inevitable,” Biden said.

“When Putin, and his craven lust for land and power, unleashed his brutal war on Ukraine, he was betting NATO would break apart … But he thought wrong.”

Swallowing his disappointment over the lack of a membership timetable, Zelenskiy hailed NATO’s “practical and unprecedented support for Ukraine” and said that at the summit Ukraine had obtained “unambiguous clarity that Ukraine will be in NATO”.

He tweeted: “I believe we will be in NATO once the security situation stabilizes. Put simply, when the war is over, Ukraine will be invited into NATO and Ukraine will clearly become a member of the Alliance. I felt no thoughts of any other sort.”

At a meeting with Zelenskiy, Biden promised him the U.S. was doing everything it could to meet Ukraine’s needs and acknowledged Zelenskiy’s frustration about the scale and speed of support.