Acclaimed speech before NATO summit
Thousands celebrate Zelenskyj in Vilnius
07/12/2023, 12:15 am
For the first time since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against his country, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy addresses a large crowd. He is celebrated by thousands of supporters during a performance in the old town of Vilnius. Just a few kilometers away, at the NATO summit, the atmosphere is completely different.
When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy steps before the crowd in Vilnius, the vote is clear: Ukraine must become a member of NATO, it has earned it through its courageous fight against Russia! At least that is the unanimous opinion of the citizens of the Lithuanian capital who are cheering Zelenskyi in the center of Vilnius.
“NATO gives Ukraine security, Ukraine makes NATO stronger” – this is the simple formula Selenskyj uses to describe his country’s desire for an invitation to join. Thousands of people cheered his performance, waving Ukrainian flags and celebrating the black-clad Zelenskyy like a rock star.
Just a few kilometers away, the heads of state and government of the NATO countries came to a completely different conclusion: they put off the invitation Zelenskyy had hoped for. “We will be able to invite Ukraine to join the alliance if the allies agree and the conditions are met,” the summit communiqué said. The NATO countries have agreed on this sentence after weeks of tough negotiations, even at the summit there is still haggling over every comma. US President Joe Biden and Chancellor Olaf Scholz prevent clearer commitments.
“Do the right thing?
In plain language, the Vilnius declaration means: No quick accession by Ukraine, because this would draw NATO “into a war with Russia,” as Biden’s security adviser Jake Sullivan warned in Vilnius. Scholz emphasizes that he has coordinated closely with the US President so that “we are doing exactly the right thing here”.
But the “right thing” is exactly the wrong thing for Zelenskyj’s supporters. “We support Ukraine’s entry into NATO,” says Ieva Vasiliauskaite, who cheered for Zelenskyy. In the end, the Ukrainians fought “for the whole of Europe” against Russia, emphasizes the Lithuanian.
Shortly before Zelenskyj takes the stage in Vilnius, he has harshly criticized NATO. On Twitter, he calls it “absurd” that the alliance can’t even agree on a roadmap for Ukraine’s accession. This encourages Russia to continue terrorism against its country.
Vasiliauskaite says she trembled with Selenskyj and hoped for a “positive vote” at the NATO summit. The young woman shed tears behind her sunglasses. “Perhaps not everyone in the West understands what it means to live under occupation and to make bloody sacrifices,” she says, referring to the Soviet era up to 1991.
One small step for Ukraine, one giant leap for NATO
Lithuania’s President and NATO summit host Gitanas Nauseda made his surprise appearance possible for Selenskyj. He joins the Ukrainian President and his wife Olena on the stage, which is set up in Vilnius for a summer concert. Zelenskyy seizes the opportunity: “Ukrainian flags on Lithuania’s streets prove that we are already allies,” he calls out to the crowd, which includes many families with children. The Twitter catchphrase #UkraineNato33 appears behind him, a nod to Ukraine wanting to become the 33rd member of the military alliance after Finland and Sweden.
While a singer with a strong tremolo belts out the Ukrainian anthem, a Ukrainian flag, which soldiers have brought from the embattled city of Bakhmut, is hoisted. “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to Lithuania,” Zelenskyy calls out to his fans before heading to a dinner with the heads of state and government of the NATO countries.
The Ukrainian President also knows that the Vilnius summit compromise may be a small step for Ukraine, but it is a giant leap for the Alliance. Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg notes that there has “never been a stronger language from NATO about Ukraine’s membership”.