Ukraine hails NATO summit declaration, says it's time for bloc membership

Washington DC — The head of Ukraine's presidential office has praised the NATO summit and the declaration that pledged more military aid to Kiev, but stressed there should be more steps, including full membership into the alliance and an end to restrictions on weapons use for targeting Russian military entities outside Ukraine.

"I can say we are satisfied with the results of the Washington summit because the language of the document [the declaration] is really strong. We can see the alliance made real steps forward," Andriy Yermak said during the NATO Public Forum on Thursday.

"I think the next stop is Ukraine needs to receive an invitation [to NATO]," he added, saying it's good to see unity in the alliance for the full membership of Ukraine in NATO.

Yermak also said it's good to see that the new air defence systems will be delivered, but said: "We need more."

"It's necessary. We need more. We need more to protect and prevent such tragedy that happened two days ago," he said, referring to the children's hospital strike in which at least 38 people were killed.

Yermak also called on Western partners to remove all restrictions on how to use the weapons and allow them to attack main Russian territories, saying it's impossible to fight an enemy that doesn't have any restrictions.

"Enemy [Russia] can directly attack our civilians, children's hospitals, schools, and we have this restriction. I think this will be a real game-changer, and I hope our partners understand it," he said.

Yermak's comments came a day after NATO's declaration pledged at least $43 billion in military aid to Ukraine through the next year in its fight against Russia.

On Thursday, the US announced a new security package for Ukraine worth $225 million, which includes a Patriot missile battery, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems and missiles, among other items.

Trump's comeback?

With elections taking place in the Western countries this year, the US is the most important one.

Asked by TRT World if Donald Trump's potential return will influence military aid and other support for Ukraine, Yermak said the US election is a "choice of the American people, and we very much respect it."

"But our goal is to keep the support of the American people and American society at a high level and to work with our friends, colleagues and partners in the different levels," he said, refraining from mentioning Trump by name.

Yermak insisted that Ukraine has a bipartisan support in the US.

We "appreciate that the representative of both parties visited Ukraine and personally to see what happened… it's not necessary to explain for what Ukrainians are fighting," Yermak added.

Concerns over US aid to Ukraine have been mounting in recent months as Trump seeks to make a comeback to the White House.

The US House approved an aid package to Ukraine. But before that, Congress Republicans blocked the package, which also included border policy changes over disagreements over the latter.