NATO Head Sees ‘Strong Message’ on Ukraine’s Membership Bid at Summit 

A NATO flag stands on the day of a NATO leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania July 11, 2023. (Reuters)
A NATO flag stands on the day of a NATO leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania July 11, 2023. (Reuters)
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NATO Head Sees ‘Strong Message’ on Ukraine’s Membership Bid at Summit 

A NATO flag stands on the day of a NATO leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania July 11, 2023. (Reuters)
A NATO flag stands on the day of a NATO leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania July 11, 2023. (Reuters)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine would get a "positive and strong message" on its path to membership on Tuesday, as leaders of the Western military alliance meet to discuss the fallout from Russia's invasion that brought war to their doorstep.

Divisions among NATO's 31 members mean there will not be a straightforward invitation for Ukraine to join, something its Soviet-era overlord Moscow says would threaten its national security.

But Stoltenberg said Kyiv would get more military aid and an easing of formal conditions to join, as well as a new format of cooperation with the alliance, the so-called NATO-Ukraine Council.

"I am confident it will be a positive and strong message on Ukraine and the path forward for membership," Stoltenberg said before hosting a summit in the Lithuanian capital.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan also said the gathering would send a "positive signal" about Kyiv's membership bid. Diplomats were upbeat as negotiators were drawing close on the final agreement.

US President Joe Biden, speaking alongside Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, whose country in extremely wary of consequences of Russia's war in Ukraine for eastern Europe, reaffirmed Washington's commitment to the alliance.

"Our pledge to be with you has not wavered," he said.

The summit is also set to approve NATO's first comprehensive plans since the end of the Cold War to defend against any attack from Russia.

Moscow has criticized the two-day summit. Russia's state RIA news agency quoted a Vienna-based senior Russian diplomat as warning that Europe would be the first to face "catastrophic consequences" should the war in Ukraine escalate.

While NATO members agree Kyiv cannot join during the war, they have disagreed over how quickly it could happen afterwards and under what conditions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, due to attend the Vilnius gathering, has been pressing NATO for a clear path for Ukraine to join once the war is over. On Tuesday, he said Ukrainian troops were keeping Russian aggression from Europe.

"The eastern border of Ukraine, the border of our state and the positions of our warriors are the line that the Russian dictatorship... will never cross again," he said on Twitter.

Ukraine waits, Sweden on its way in

NATO members in Eastern Europe have backed Kyiv's stance, arguing that bringing Ukraine under NATO's collective security umbrella is the best way to deter Russia from attacking again.

Countries such as the United States and Germany have been more cautious, wary of any move that they fear could draw NATO into a direct conflict with Russia and potentially spark a global war.

NATO was formed in 1949 with the primary aim of countering the risk of a Soviet attack on allied territory.

The NATO-Ukraine Council, due to hold its first session in Vilnius on Wednesday, is not dissimilar from a coordination platform NATO had with Russia from 2002. That stopped after Moscow annexed Crimea from Kyiv in 2014 and then went on to back rebel fighters in eastern Ukraine.

Stoltenberg said Ukraine could now skip a Membership Action Plan (MAP) - a process for meeting political, economic and military goals before becoming a NATO member.

Lithuania's NATO ambassador said the summit would commit 500 million euros a year in non-lethal help to Ukraine, including medical supplies and de-mining. Norway said it would increase military aid to Kyiv.

"It's important that they win. It's important for our common security," Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told Reuters.

While Ukraine was set to be kept waiting, another country seemingly secured a breakthrough on its path to NATO membership.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan late on Monday agreed to forward Sweden's bid to join to his parliament for ratification, appearing to end months of opposition that strained the bloc.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was what prompted Sweden - and its Nordic neighbor Finland - to abandon decades of military non-alignment and apply to join NATO.

Finland became NATO's 31st member in April but Sweden's accession has been held up by a dispute with Türkiye, where Erdogan had accused Sweden of not doing enough to crack down on militants that Ankara sees as terrorists.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Erdogan agreed to step up cooperation on fighting terrorism. The United States also promised to move forward with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye, Sullivan said.

Biden said he was "not at all" surprised Türkiye ended up lifting its veto.

Back in Kyiv, Ukraine's military said Russia launched drone attacks on the southern port of Odessa and the country's capital itself in early hours on Tuesday.



Governments Scramble to Evacuate Citizens from Israel, Iran

Pakistani pilgrims evacuated from Iran walk across the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, Balochistan province on June 18, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. (Photo by Banaras KHAN / AFP)
Pakistani pilgrims evacuated from Iran walk across the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, Balochistan province on June 18, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. (Photo by Banaras KHAN / AFP)
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Governments Scramble to Evacuate Citizens from Israel, Iran

Pakistani pilgrims evacuated from Iran walk across the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, Balochistan province on June 18, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. (Photo by Banaras KHAN / AFP)
Pakistani pilgrims evacuated from Iran walk across the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, Balochistan province on June 18, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. (Photo by Banaras KHAN / AFP)

Governments around the world are attempting to evacuate thousands of their nationals caught up in the rapidly spiraling Israel-Iran conflict, organizing buses and planes and in some cases assisting people crossing borders on foot.

Foreigners have rushed to leave both countries after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign last Friday targeting Iran's nuclear and military facilities, sparking retaliation from Tehran.

But with Israel's air space closed and the two countries exchanging heavy missile fire, many people are being evacuated from third countries.

European countries have already repatriated hundreds of their citizens from Israel.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia said Tuesday they had taken 181 people home on government planes.

"It was not possible to send the army plane straight to Israel," the Czech defense ministry said in a statement, citing the air space closure.

"The evacuees were taken to an airport in a neighboring country by buses. They crossed the border on foot."

The German government said flights were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday via Jordan, while Poland said the first of its citizens were due to arrive back on Wednesday.

Greece said it had repatriated 105 of its citizens plus a number of foreign nationals via Egypt, while a private plane with 148 people landed in the Bulgarian capital Sophia on Tuesday.

The US ambassador to Israel on Wednesday announced plans for evacuating Americans by air and sea, AFP reported.

The embassy is "working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures" for "American citizens wanting to leave Israel," Ambassador Mike Huckabee posted on X.

Australia has started evacuating around 1,500 citizens from Iran and more than 1,200 from Israel -- but missile barrages have made it too risky for civilian aircraft to land in either country, it's foreign minister said.

"There's no capacity for people to get civilian aircraft in, it is too risky, and the airspace is closed," Foreign Minister Penny Wong told national broadcaster ABC.

"We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing.

"We are seeking to try and do more of that over the next 24 hours."
Pakistan has shut its border crossings with neighboring Iran, except to Pakistanis wanting to return home.

Around 1,000 Pakistanis have fled so far, including at least 200 students.
The foreign ministry said the families of diplomats and some non-essential staff from Iran had been evacuated.

Around 110 Indian students have been evacuated from Iran on a special flight from Armenia, India's foreign ministry said Thursday.

New Zealand said Thursday it had closed its embassy in Iran, evacuating two staff members and their family to Azerbaijan by land.

"If and when opportunities arise to assist the departure of other New Zealanders in Iran and Israel, we will pursue them with urgency," Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.

Japan has ordered military planes to be on standby for around 1,000 Japanese nationals believed to live in Israel, and around 280 in Iran, according to government ministers.

The Japanese embassies in Iran and Israel are preparing to use buses to evacuate citizens to neighboring countries, a government spokesman said, as the war entered its seventh day.