Jens Stoltenberg makes highly sensitive, surprise trip to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s place is in NATO, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg declared Thursday in Kyiv during his first visit to the country since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
The surprise trip, coming more than a year after the war began, is highly sensitive and arrives at a time when Ukrainian officials are pushing the Western military alliance to give Kyiv a clearer path to membership.
Speaking in Kyiv alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Stoltenberg said that the country belongs in the Euro-Atlantic family.
“Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO,” the secretary-general said, “and over time, our support will help you make this possible.”