Ukraine's NATO membership remains 'irreversible' despite possible communique omission, Rutte says

The political commitment to Ukraine's future membership in NATO remains unchanged, even if it is not explicitly mentioned in the final communique of the upcoming summit in The Hague, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on June 9.

"The irreversible path of Ukraine into NATO is there, and it is my assumption that it is still there after the summit," Rutte said at Chatham House in London.

"Whether it is again in the communique or not, I think that's not relevant, because all the language we previously agreed on is there — until we decide it is no longer there."

Rutte's comments follow reporting that this year's summit communique, set for release after the June 24–25 meeting, may exclude references to Russia and Ukraine. This would mark a notable departure from previous gatherings, where Kyiv's future in NATO took center stage.

Ukraine applied for alliance membership in September 2022, several months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. While NATO has repeatedly affirmed that Kyiv will eventually join, it has yet to extend a formal invitation.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who is set to attend the summit, has claimed that Ukraine's NATO aspirations provoked the war — a line frequently echoed in Russian propaganda. He also signaled plans to reduce U.S. military presence in Europe and has been reluctant to provide new military support to Kyiv.

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on June 2 that Ukraine had been invited to the upcoming summit, despite earlier speculation that the country might be excluded due to opposition from the Trump administration.

The Ukrainian president has attended every NATO summit since February 2022: in person in 2024 in Washington and 2023 in Vilnius, and virtually in 2022.

This year's summit is expected to focus more cautiously on alliance posture and defense spending, as internal divisions surface over support for Ukraine and broader geopolitical commitments.

Russian missile and drone barrage hits Kyiv, Odesa, killing 2 and injuring 12, damaging maternity hospital

In the early hours of June 10, Kyiv and Odesa came under another mass Russian attack, involving ballistic missiles and drones. Explosions were heard across the capital as air defense systems engaged the targets.

The Kyiv IndependentOlena Goncharova