![]() But of course, this does not sit well with Kremlin officials who say one of the reasons Russia invaded Ukraine was to prevent it from joining NATO. Zelenskyy wants membership talks to start as soon as this July. However, he talked about a membership process that's going to take years.Īnd President Zelenskyy says, why should it take so long? We are, you know, not just defending our independence and existence as a nation, but we're also buffering you, our allies in the West, from Russian aggression. And he said that, you know, Ukraine's rightful place is in NATO. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Ukraine on Thursday, and it's his first visit since Russia's full-scale invasion began. So I think the short answer, at least right now, is yes, eventually. Is that likely, that Ukraine will become a NATO member? SIMON: Joanna, the secretary general of NATO this week said that Ukraine belongs in their security alliance. And he just smiled wearily and shrugged as if to say, you know, I rest my case. KAKISSIS: And as if on cue, while we were talking to him, an air raid alert actually went off on his phone. KAKISSIS: So he's saying that they can shoot down almost anything, you know, incoming missiles and drones, as well as enemy planes and helicopters. YURII IHNAT: (Non-English language spoken). And Ukraine's Air Force spokesman, Yurii Ihnat, told us recently that Ukrainian forces see F-16 fighter jets as the best way to protect Ukrainian airspace. And so Reznikov says Ukraine needs F-16s. There's also concern that Russia is set to ramp up its air attacks. But the arrival of the Abrams and the training to use them will come probably too late for Ukraine's planned counteroffensive because it's supposed to happen sometime this spring or in summer. promised those Abrams tanks that they could be a game changer because not only is Ukraine trying to reclaim occupied territory, it's also trying to defend itself as Russia tries to take even more Ukrainian territory in the east. KAKISSIS: So Ukraine's defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, told us earlier this year when the U.S. What sort of difference could they make in this conflict? SIMON: Abrams tanks are famously powerful and lethal. officials say 31 of those Abrams tanks I mentioned above could reach Ukraine this fall, and Ukrainian soldiers could start training on them within weeks. And this includes badly needed ammunition as well as heavy weapons like Leopard and Abrams tanks. This group meets every month and has provided a total of around $55 billion in security assistance to Ukraine. KAKISSIS: So these defense leaders are in what's called the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, and their goal is to help Ukraine defend itself. And defense leaders from those nations met at the Ramstein U.S. ![]() SIMON: Of course, western allies of Ukraine have continued to try to help Ukraine defend itself from those attacks. So what Russians usually bomb and shell in this area is the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, which is about 25 miles southwest of Belgorod. And yes, the Russian Defense Ministry later admitted in a statement that a supersonic fighter jet had indeed accidentally bombed the city. KAKISSIS: So, yeah, according to Russia's state media, there was this huge explosion on Thursday evening in Belgorod, a Russian city of about 400,000 near the Ukrainian border, and at least three people were injured, and the explosion just badly damaged surrounding buildings. SIMON: And what do we know about this accidental bombing? JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Happy to join you today, Scott. NPR's Joanna Kakissis joins us from Kyiv. and Europe and elsewhere meet to try to bolster Ukraine's arsenal. Now to the war in Ukraine - Russia's military has admitted one of its fighter jets had what they call an accidental discharge over a Russian city near the border with Ukraine.
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