President Duda in Lithuania: Ukrainian army will bolster NATO militarily

Presidents of Poland and Lithuania - Andrzej Duda and Gitanas Nauseda respectively - watched Polish and Lithuanian special forces practice in Klaipeda.

"A part of our contingent arrived here to practice together with Lithuanian soldiers, but also to help them to secure the NATO summit that will begin here next week," Duda said.

According to the Polish president, the summit in Vilnius will be very important in terms of security. "We are both determined to ensure security, so that all Lithuania's residents could feel the safety of the Allied presence," he added.

President Duda expressed hope that decisions regarding further support for Ukraine would be made during the NATO summit in Vilnius. "But also regarding first steps for Ukraine to soon join NATO, we hope as soon as possible, and thus become its full member with full rights and guarantees resultant of the Alliance membership. Obviously, with all responsibilities too," he stressed.

"Ukraine and its army of experienced soldiers, which will become a part of NATO military, will certainly strengthen this alliance militarily."

At the press conference in Klaipeda, Poland's president noted that the changing security situation in that region of Europe was posing danger to the whole North-Atlantic Alliance, partially due to Vladimir Putin's plans to relocate some of Russia's nuclear weapons to Belarus.

In a letter addressed to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, presidents of Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia - Andrzej Duda, Gitanas Nauseda, and Egils Levits - warned about the threat posed by developments in Belarus.

"We are writing as NATO Allies bordering Russia and Belarus. The cooperation of the two states has deteriorated the security of our region and that of the entire Euro–Atlantic area. The Belarussian territory and its resources have been used by Russia in its illegal and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine," the three leaders wrote.

"This has been possible as a result of the ever closer military integration of these two states. Its recent manifestation has been the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus. It presents an escalatory move in the context of the war in Ukraine and a direct threat to the security of our community. This is yet another flagrant violation of the NATO–Russia Founding Act and a living proof that this document is no longer in force," they added.

Another issue the presidents raised in the letter to NATO was "the presence of Wagner Group mercenaries and their leader Y. Prigozhin in Belarus". " It generates risks for political stability in Belarus and in consequence a potential loss of control over conventional and nuclear weapons in Belarus. Moreover, Y. Prigozhin’s failed coup proves an increasingly disruptive potential of private military companies in Russia."

Duda, Nauseda and Levits also stressed NATO members "need solidarity and unity to counter all threats in line with the 360–degree principle". "Including those brought about by recent developments in Belarus. We must show Russia that we see and understand them and that we are ready to use all possible means to counter them."

"The Belarussian nation needs our reassurance, namely they need to know that a democratic, stable and prosperous Belarus is important to us. And that it will not be possible with Belarus being subdued by Russia and exploited by the Kremlin’s infighting. Therefore, the actions that we propose will not only improve Allied security, but will also correspond with the democratic aspirations of the Belarussian nation," we read in the letter.

Finally, the leaders proposed five key solutions the Alliance should implement to achieve its goals: review of nuclear deterrence and its adaptation to new realities, inclusion in the military adaptation of conventional threats emanating from Belarus, filling army prepositioned stocks on the Eastern Flank, raising defence spending beyond 2 percent of GDP and aligning it with NATO priorities, and increasing Allied resilience against hybrid threats.