NATO chief says Ukraine remains vital at summit despite Zelenskyy’s absence from leaders’ meeting

Britain's King Charles III, left, walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the occasion of their private audience at Windsor Castle, England, Monday, June 23, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte insisted Monday Ukraine would remain a vital topic at an alliance summit this week despite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s absence from a leaders’ meeting aiming to seal an agreement to boost military spending.

“You will see important language about Ukraine, including connecting the defense spending up to 2035 to Ukraine, and the need for Ukraine to stay in the fight,” Rutte told reporters on the eve of the two-day summit. “This is a clear commitment by allies.”

But the Ukrainian leader hasn’t yet publicly confirmed he’ll attend a dinner laid on for leaders attending the NATO summit, where his country has had a diplomatic downgrade from previous alliance meetings, even as leaders stress that their militaries need to muscle up to counter the threat of Russia.

It’s a big change since the summit in Washington last year, when the military alliance’s weighty communique included a vow to supply long-term security assistance to Ukraine, and a commitment to back the country “on its irreversible path” to NATO membership.

But with Zelenskyy’s relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump still strained since a testy Oval Office meeting earlier this year, finding a place for the Ukrainian leader at NATO’s top table has proved a bridge too far.

There are other meetings scheduled for Zelenskyy at the summit, but the doors remain shut to the leaders’ working meeting Wednesday, even as Rutte acknowledged how heavily the war weighs on the leaders.

“Of course, the most significant and direct threat facing this alliance remains the Russian Federation,” he said. ”Moscow continues to wage war against Ukraine with the support of North Korea, Iran and China, as well as Belarus.”

Rutte stressed that the alliance is underwriting Ukraine’s defense to the tune of billions of euros.

European allies and Canada, “will provide over €35 billion of additional security assistance to Ukraine for the year ahead,” he said. “So in a couple of months, we went from €20 billion to €35 billion. And I think that is great news.”

Meanwhile, Moscow bombarded Ukraine with 352 drones and decoys, as well as 11 ballistic missiles and five cruise missiles overnight Monday, Ukraine’s air force said, killing at least 14 people and injuring several dozen others.

Mike Corder, The Associated Press