President Biden opened the NATO summit Tuesday at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium and declared that Russia would lose the war against Ukraine.
“Make no mistake, Russia is failing in this war,” Biden said. “Russia will not prevail. Ukraine will prevail.”
Biden also announced Ukraine would get five additional air interceptors, which comes after a Russian missile strike on Okhmatdyt, the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine. The initial attack wounded more than a dozen children, including young cancer patients.
NATO leaders will gather Wednesday and Thursday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to draft a joint communique on policy.
The most contentious part of the discussions between leaders will be Ukraine and how to support the nation in the war against Russia.
While including Ukraine into the alliance is unlikely to happen this year, considering it would trigger all 32 members of NATO to fight against Russia, officials are expected to signal that Kyiv will one day be a member.
A draft text describes Ukraine’s path to NATO membership as “irreversible,” according to CNN.
NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday the children’s hospital strike was spurring the need to act this week.
“We will make decisions on Ukraine, and I think what you have seen over the last days demonstrates the need to step up our support for Ukraine,” he said ahead of a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Another question looming over the summit will be whether allies pressure the U.S. to lift its restrictions on Ukraine, which is prevented from using American weapons to hit inside of Russia unless it involves a cross-border attack.
Allies will also debate defense spending. A record 23 allies have reached the target goal of 2 percent of economic output. Biden said under his presidency the number of nations meeting that goal increased from nine to 23, saying it was “remarkable progress” and proof of a commitment to defending its territory.
Biden will undoubtedly face pressure this week to show his mental acuity amid the fallout from his catastrophic debate against former President Trump last month and calls from some Democratic lawmakers that he should not seek re-election.
It’s unclear if any top European allies in NATO are concerned about Biden.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
