Ukraine support in focus as NATO foreign ministers meet

NATO foreign ministers open two days of talks Tuesday in Brussels with support for Ukraine high on the agenda as the country fights to defend itself from a Russian invasion that began nearly three years ago.

Allies have already pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in new military aid ahead of the meetings, including new rounds of assistance from the United States and Germany.

In addition to the NATO ministerial talks, the agenda also includes the latest round of meetings for the NATO-Ukraine council as Ukrainian officials push for membership in the alliance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that an invitation to join NATO “would fundamentally strengthen Ukraine before any negotiations to end the war.”

NATO leaders have repeatedly said Ukraine’s future is in NATO, but that the country would not be able to join while the Russian war is ongoing.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters Monday that the United States is focused on “helping Ukraine to be in the strongest position possible on the battlefield and to ensure they are able to defend itself now and over the long term.”

On the battlefront, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that Russian aerial attacks overnight damaged energy infrastructure in the western regions of Rivne and Ternopil.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that Russian shelling and a drone hit the city of Nikopol, damaging multiple homes, a gym, and gas and power lines.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Belgorod region and another drone over Bryansk.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters
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