NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, convened a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council on July 26. The event focuses on discussing possible ways to counter Russian provocations in the Black Sea and the restoration of Ukrainian grain exports. Another important issue is enhancing compatibility between Ukraine and NATO - a plan of action must be developed to facilitate Kyiv's step-by-step integration into the Alliance.
After exiting the grain agreement, Russia has systematically been destroying Ukraine's port infrastructure. The goal of these actions is to prevent grain exports from Ukraine, as the Kremlin aims to provoke a global hunger crisis, which would destabilize Europe. Additionally, Russia hopes to replace Ukraine's share of grain in the world market with its own. It is worth noting that the Russian Aerospace Forces are shelling Ukrainian ports in close proximity to the borders of the EU and NATO. For instance, on July 24, Russia carried out a drone attack on the river port of Danube, located in the city of Reni. The opposite bank of this river belongs to Romania, and Russia deliberately shelled the Ukrainian port in immediate proximity to a country that is a member of the Alliance. This provocation is not the first of its kind, as on February 10 of the current year, two Russian Kalibr missiles were moving inside Ukraine, close to the border with Romania. Putin is intentionally testing the West's reaction to these close-range attacks. The Alliance must develop measures to counter such threats; otherwise, Russian missiles and drones will reach its territory.
Furthermore, Ukraine, in cooperation with NATO, needs to develop a list of necessary steps, the fulfillment of which would be a practical guarantee of membership in the Alliance. These steps should serve as a sort of "roadmap," which can be devised within the framework of the Ukraine-NATO Council's meetings. Despite the progress made after the Vilnius Summit, a concrete action plan for further integration has not been developed yet. The Ukraine-NATO Council should become a practical platform for designing such a plan.
Russia has become the main destabilizing factor not only in the Black Sea region but also a source of hybrid, and potentially military, threat to the West. Ukraine has demonstrated its worthiness to be part of NATO and significantly strengthen the Alliance with its armed forces. In Brussels, they cannot ignore the growing Russian threat - now it is closer to Europe than ever before. The Ukraine-NATO Council should become a practical instrument to counter the Russian threat while Europe still has time.
Источник: attuale.info
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