After his inauguration, new NATO Secretary General Rutte has arrived in Kyiv.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, during his first foreign visit to Kyiv at a press conference following a meeting with President Zelenskyy, confirmed that the Ukrainian issue will be his key priority while in office. The visit to Ukraine was his first working trip after assuming the position of Secretary General of the Alliance.

Zelenskyy, in turn, emphasized that he considers the key priority in Ukraine’s relations with NATO to be receiving an invitation to join the Alliance, though it will not be easy. The president also said that allies could shoot down drones and missiles over Ukraine, as they do over Israel. However, the president notes the allies are not yet ready to defend Ukrainian skies.

The NATO secretary general shied away from comment. As for strikes inside the Russian Federation, according to Rutte, lifting restrictions should be performed by each NATO country individually and not from the Alliance as a whole.

The parties discussed the prospects of cooperation, the Victory Plan, Ukraine’s approach to ending the war, the battlefield situation, and the military’s needs.