MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/. A number of NATO member states may commit to continuing financial and military-technical assistance to Ukraine at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, the Valdai Club's director for scientific activities Fyodor Lukyanov told TASS.
"So far, all these discussions resulted in NATO countries' obligations for military-technical supplies and, possibly, subsidies and financial support. Something similar can be expected to be revealed there - a number of nations committing to continuing military-technical and material support for Ukraine," the analyst predicted.
On July 7, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the United States had decided to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, despite the fact that the United Nations opposed the use of such munitions. He also said that Kiev had issued written assurances to Washington that those weapons would be used in a way so as to minimize risks to civilians. Pentagon Spokesman Patrick Ryder said on Thursday that the United States was poised to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions that posed the least risk to civilians.
Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Farhan Haq said earlier, commenting on media reports about the US’plans to supply such munitions to Ukraine, that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres supports the Convention on Cluster Munitions and is against the use of such weapons on the battlefield.
The upcoming NATO leaders' meeting will be held in Vilnius on July 11-12. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier that President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky would attend the first meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council on the summit’s sidelines. However, he did not promise that Ukraine would be invited to join NATO after hostilities in the country are over.