Presidents of 9 NATO countries support Ukraine's membership of the military alliance

The presidents of nine NATO countries came out in support of Ukraine on Sunday. In a joint statement, the Central and Eastern Europe countries condemned Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territories and called on NATO to significantly increase military assistance to Ukraine.

The presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia and Romania said they fully support "the decision of the 2008 Bucharest NATO Summit regarding the future membership of Ukraine in the Alliance."

Also Read |Zelensky says Ukrainian forces liberated Kherson region towns

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The leaders of these countries also mentioned that they witnessed first-hand the "effects of Russia aggression" in Ukraine when they visited the country "during the war".

They further added that they will never recognise Russia's annexation of Ukrainian regions.

“We reiterate our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We do not recognize and will never recognize Russian attempts to annex any Ukrainian territory,” the statement said.

The leaders further demanded that Russia immediately withdraw from all occupied regions.

“We support Ukraine in its defence against Russia's invasion, demand Russia to immediately withdraw from all the occupied territories and encourage all Allies to substantially increase their military aid to Ukraine,” the statement continued.

Also Read |Zelensky promises to retake more of eastern Ukraine

The statement also called on “all those who commit crimes of aggression” to be held accountable and brought to justice.

In his Sunday address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the success of the country's soldiers is not limited to the recapture of Lyman as he said that some towns in the Kherson region have also been liberated.

"The story of the liberation of Lyman in the Donetsk region has now become the most popular in the media. But the successes of our soldiers are not limited to Lyman," said Zelensky during his nightly address as reported by news agency Reuters.

(With inputs from agencies)