The first of three extraordinary NATO summits scheduled for March 24 by Western leaders to map out the next steps in efforts to stop Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is underway in Brussels, as fierce fighting continues in the besieged city of Mariupol and other flash points across the country.
US President Joe Biden, who is attending the NATO meeting and will then attend a European Union summit as well as a Group of Seven industrialized nations meeting, is expected to use the occasion to announce new sanctions against Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy was also scheduled to address Western leaders via video link from his besieged capital of Kyiv on the morning of March 24, as the war entered its one-month mark.
In a late-March video message, Zelenskiy urged the world’s democracies to unite in the face of Russia’s “crude and cruel” force, accusing the invaders of atrocities against civilians and warning the West that freedom must take precedence over economic interests.
“At these three summits, we will determine who is a friend, who is a partner, and who betrayed us for monetary gain.” “Only when we stand together can we defend life,” he said.
Russian ground forces that have been slowed or stopped in their tracks by Western-armed Ukrainian troops have resorted to shelling military and civilian targets alike from a safe distance.
Speaking ahead of the NATO summit, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine a “big mistake.”
According to Stoltenberg, leaders at the meeting will discuss “the need for a longer-term reset of our deterrence and defense.”
NATO has already stated that it will double its deployments in Europe by adding four more. The new locations will be in Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria.
The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, stated on March 24 that Russia is stalling talks on a cease-fire in Ukraine and will not take the talks seriously until it achieves its objectives.
According to a senior US defense official, Moscow’s ground forces appear to be establishing defensive positions 15 to 20 kilometers outside Kyiv while making little to no progress toward the city center.
According to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Ukrainian troops appear to have pushed the Russians further east of Kyiv.
In an interview with Spain’s TVE on March 24, Borrell stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to surround the Black Sea coast all the way to the Moldovan border in order to isolate Ukraine from the water.
“Right now, Russia is unwilling to sit down and negotiate anything.” “What it wants is to occupy the ground,” said Borrell. “It will only engage in serious negotiations once it has established a position of strength.”
After the March 24 meetings, Biden will hold a news conference before traveling to Poland to meet with leaders in that country, which has taken in the majority of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the fighting.
The United Nations General Assembly is set to meet on March 24 to discuss the Ukrainian conflict and a draft humanitarian resolution drafted by Kyiv. Unlike the Security Council, where Russia and other permanent members have veto power, no single country can block a resolution in the General Assembly.
