Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Sweden in what is his first trip since Russia launched its offensive on Ukraine.&nbsp;

"Olena and I arrived in Sweden," Zelensky said on X, formerly known as Twitter, while&nbsp;referring to his wife. He said he will hold talks focused on "partnership, defence cooperation, EU integration, and common Euro-Atlantic security."

"I thank all Swedes who support Ukraine."

<h2>Why Zelensky is in Sweden?</h2>

Sweden has a robust defence industry and despite its purported symbolisms of peace advocacy groups in and beyond capital Stockholm, has been a key supplier of weaponry to the countries in many parts of the world.&nbsp;

Zelensky's visit comes amid reports that all of the Archer self-propelled howitzers donated by Sweden will soon be delivered to Ukraine.

During his visit, Zelensky is scheduled to meet with Swedish government officials in Harpsund, located about 120 kilometers west of Stockholm. Additionally, he will have an audience with Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at a palace in the area.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/swedens-nato-membership-approval-soon-white-house-613275">Sweden's NATO membership approval soon: White House</a>

Sweden, in a departure from its long-standing military non-alignment policy, has provided support to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia by supplying weapons and aid.

The nation has also applied for NATO membership and is awaiting approval to join the alliance.

Also read |&nbsp;Explained - Why Turkiye agreed to approve Sweden's NATO bid

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Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently visited top military leaders in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, near the Ukrainian border.

During the visit, Putin was briefed by Valery Gerasimov, the commander overseeing Moscow's operations in Ukraine, and other high-ranking military officials at the headquarters of Russia's Southern Military District.

The details of Putin's visit were not confirmed, but footage from state media suggested the meeting took place at night, with Gerasimov welcoming Putin and leading him into a building. The meeting itself remained undisclosed to the public.

Ukraine has reported progress in its counteroffensive efforts, reclaiming the village of Urozhaine in the eastern Donetsk region.

The leader of the Russian battalion defending Urozhaine admitted that his troops could not achieve victory against Ukraine and called for a "front freeze."

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Sweden in what is his first trip since Russia launched its offensive on Ukraine. "Olena and I arrived in Sweden," Zelensky said on X, formerly known as Twitter, while referring to his wife.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Sweden in what is his first trip since Russia launched its offensive on Ukraine. "Olena and I arrived in Sweden," Zelensky said on X, formerly known as Twitter, while referring to his wife. He said he will hold talks focused on "partnership, defence cooperation, EU integration, and common Euro-Atlantic security." "I thank all Swedes who support Ukraine." Why Zelensky is in Sweden? Sweden has a robust defence industry and despite its purported symbolisms of peace advocacy groups in and beyond capital Stockholm, has been a key supplier of weaponry to the countries in many parts of the world. Zelensky's visit comes amid reports that all of the Archer self-propelled howitzers donated by Sweden will soon be delivered to Ukraine. During his visit, Zelensky is scheduled to meet with Swedish government officials in Harpsund, located about 120 kilometers west of Stockholm. Additionally, he will have an audience with Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at a palace in the area. Also read | Sweden's NATO membership approval soon: White House Sweden, in a departure from its long-standing military non-alignment policy, has provided support to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia by supplying weapons and aid. The nation has also applied for NATO membership and is awaiting approval to join the alliance. Also read | Explained - Why Turkiye agreed to approve Sweden's NATO bid × Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently visited top military leaders in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, near the Ukrainian border. During the visit, Putin was briefed by Valery Gerasimov, the commander overseeing Moscow's operations in Ukraine, and other high-ranking military officials at the headquarters of Russia's Southern Military District. The details of Putin's visit were not confirmed, but footage from state media suggested the meeting took place at night, with Gerasimov welcoming Putin and leading him into a building. The meeting itself remained undisclosed to the public. Ukraine has reported progress in its counteroffensive efforts, reclaiming the village of Urozhaine in the eastern Donetsk region. The leader of the Russian battalion defending Urozhaine admitted that his troops could not achieve victory against Ukraine and called for a "front freeze." WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Zelensky visits NATO-aspirant Sweden with focus on 'EU integration'

In the spring of 2002, the NATO-Russia Council was established in Rome for ‘joint decision making and joint action’ between Brussels and Moscow. Two years before that, at the peak of Washington's global unipolarity, the Moscow-Washington ties were ‘off to a good start’ according to US President Bill Clinton. Then in the middle of 2002 came the beginning of the end of the ‘good start’ for Moscow-Washington ties.

The then US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice asked her Russian counterpart how far Russia under Vladimir Putin was willing to integrate with NATO.

“Condi, forget it. We are not going to join an alliance where our vote is the same as a country like Latvia. You need not ask me that again,” Sergei Ivanov, secretary of the Russian Security Council told her.

&nbsp;<img alt="File photo Rice" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="dbe46852-c7f8-4a33-92b1-c4c4fc1f29be" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20-%202023-07-24T165311.233.png" />

File photo of former US National&nbsp;Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and&nbsp;Sergei Ivanov, former secretary of the Russian Security Council | state.gov

The incident finds its mention in ‘A Bonfire of Illusions’, a chapter in a Putin biography by Philip Short, which describes how the rift between the US-led West became too deep to heal by the time he completed his second four-year term as Russian president in 2008.

<h2>NATO’s ‘worst-kept secret’</h2>

During the NATO summit, that concluded earlier this month in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted the absence of a timetable for his country’s formal entry to the alliance as 'absurd'.

<img alt="Zelensky during NATO summit" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="cc92baf1-248c-48d0-95db-7f3e5b7a1778" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20-%202023-07-24T165820.361.png" />

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a NATO leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania July 12, 2023 | Reuters

"We value our allies," Zelensky said but added that "Ukraine also deserves respect."

Not every nation has an equal weight in NATO. &nbsp;

The worst-kept secret of the US-led alliance is that an informal group consisting of the United States, Britain, France and Germany ‘pre-cook’ NATO decisions which the rest 27 members then endorse, Philip Short adds in 'Putin: Life and Times'.<img alt="French Premier and Foreign Secretary Pierre Mendès-France, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles at Paris Conference, 23 October 1954." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="23041f85-342e-407f-aa71-ac9399bba11d" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20-%202023-07-24T170053.420.png" />

French Premier and Foreign Secretary Pierre Mendès-France, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles at Paris Conference, 23 October 1954 | German Historical Institute

The informal group of NATO’s Big Four — US, France, Britain, and Germany — remains very much active during the ongoing war in Ukraine in boosting Kyiv’s war effort.

But the alliance has fallen short of accepting Ukraine as a fellow ally due to Zelensky’s inconsistencies towards joining NATO and Ukraine’s own fallacies.

An odd among NATO’s aces in Vilnius, while Zelensky appeared desperate to make Ukraine enter the alliance, he had called for "new institutions, new alliances" in his address to the US Congress in March 2023.

Furthermore, to meet one of the three main criteria for entry into NATO, a European nation must demonstrate a commitment to democracy, individual liberty and support for the rule of law.&nbsp;

Finland, the latest NATO entrant justifies this criteria while Ukraine’s record in these domains remains faltered.&nbsp;

<h2>Zelensky's big diplomatic illusion</h2>

For Kyiv, peace with Russia will not come from the capitals of the Big Four NATO countries, but from Moscow.&nbsp;

By signing a peace treaty with Russia in the spring of 2022 and then<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/putin-says-ukraine-signed-peace-treaty-with-russia-in-spring-of-2022-then-threw-it-into-garbage-of-history-605673"> throwing it into the ‘garbage of history’</a>, Kyiv with Zelensky at its helm has signed up for a prolonged conflict with Moscow, meaning further devastation for people in the region.&nbsp;

By unsuccessfully trying to be yet another Latvia in NATO’s purported hierarchy dominated by the Big Four, Zelensky is playing into a bonfire of diplomatic illusions that are making him believe that the US-led NATO will support its war effort ‘for as long as it takes’.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)&nbsp;

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In the spring of 2002, the NATO-Russia Council was established in Rome for ‘joint decision making and joint action’ between Brussels and Moscow. Two years before that, at the peak of Washington's global unipolarity, the Moscow-Washington ties were ‘off to a good start’ according to US President Bill Clinton.

In the spring of 2002, the NATO-Russia Council was established in Rome for ‘joint decision making and joint action’ between Brussels and Moscow. Two years before that, at the peak of Washington's global unipolarity, the Moscow-Washington ties were ‘off to a good start’ according to US President Bill Clinton. Then in the middle of 2002 came the beginning of the end of the ‘good start’ for Moscow-Washington ties. The then US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice asked her Russian counterpart how far Russia under Vladimir Putin was willing to integrate with NATO. “Condi, forget it. We are not going to join an alliance where our vote is the same as a country like Latvia. You need not ask me that again,” Sergei Ivanov, secretary of the Russian Security Council told her. File photo of former US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Sergei Ivanov, former secretary of the Russian Security Council | state.gov The incident finds its mention in ‘A Bonfire of Illusions’, a chapter in a Putin biography by Philip Short, which describes how the rift between the US-led West became too deep to heal by the time he completed his second four-year term as Russian president in 2008. NATO’s ‘worst-kept secret’ During the NATO summit, that concluded earlier this month in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted the absence of a timetable for his country’s formal entry to the alliance as 'absurd'. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a NATO leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania July 12, 2023 | Reuters "We value our allies," Zelensky said but added that "Ukraine also deserves respect." Not every nation has an equal weight in NATO. The worst-kept secret of the US-led alliance is that an informal group consisting of the United States, Britain, France and Germany ‘pre-cook’ NATO decisions which the rest 27 members then endorse, Philip Short adds in 'Putin: Life and Times'. French Premier and Foreign Secretary Pierre Mendès-France, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles at Paris Conference, 23 October 1954 | German Historical Institute The informal group of NATO’s Big Four — US, France, Britain, and Germany — remains very much active during the ongoing war in Ukraine in boosting Kyiv’s war effort. But the alliance has fallen short of accepting Ukraine as a fellow ally due to Zelensky’s inconsistencies towards joining NATO and Ukraine’s own fallacies. An odd among NATO’s aces in Vilnius, while Zelensky appeared desperate to make Ukraine enter the alliance, he had called for "new institutions, new alliances" in his address to the US Congress in March 2023. Furthermore, to meet one of the three main criteria for entry into NATO, a European nation must demonstrate a commitment to democracy, individual liberty and support for the rule of law. Finland, the latest NATO entrant justifies this criteria while Ukraine’s record in these domains remains faltered. Zelensky's big diplomatic illusion For Kyiv, peace with Russia will not come from the capitals of the Big Four NATO countries, but from Moscow. By signing a peace treaty with Russia in the spring of 2022 and then throwing it into the ‘garbage of history’, Kyiv with Zelensky at its helm has signed up for a prolonged conflict with Moscow, meaning further devastation for people in the region. By unsuccessfully trying to be yet another Latvia in NATO’s purported hierarchy dominated by the Big Four, Zelensky is playing into a bonfire of diplomatic illusions that are making him believe that the US-led NATO will support its war effort ‘for as long as it takes’. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Ukraine’s NATO bid: Why Zelensky is living under illusions

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Zelensky visits NATO-aspirant Sweden with focus on 'EU integration'

Ukraine’s NATO bid: Why Zelensky is living under illusions