NATO to create a single trust fund for Ukraine’s needs – President’s Office

NATO will create a single trust fund for the needs of Ukraine.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva, who deals with issues of Ukraine's membership in the EU and NATO, said this in an interview with LB.ua.

"There used to be up to six NATO trust funds that financed various elements of assistance to Ukraine. Some financed demining; some were engaged in training of military personnel, and so on. Today, it is planned to create a single trust fund that will finance the relevant needs of Ukraine. By the way, humanitarian demining is a crucial topic. This work has already begun, but we need appropriate specialists, equipment, and funds. NATO is ready to help in this, and this is important help," Zhovkva said.

He also noted that NATO as an institution, unable to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, would do everything possible to supply non-lethal weapons.

"By the way, it is also no less important in times of war; we need additional fuel and lubricants, means of combating UAVs, medicines, first-aid kits of the NATO standard, and so on," the deputy head of the Office of the President added.

The deputy head of the presidential administration also stated that, as of today, NATO had no disfavors to Ukraine's membership in the alliance. The Office of the President monitors the process of joining Sweden and Finland, which were accepted without MAP to the alliance.

He added that Ukraine had achieved even greater compliance with NATO standards:

"I will give a straightforward example. I also spoke about this during a meeting with the NATO leadership: Ukraine, receiving modern samples of Western weapons from almost every NATO member state, automatically strengthened its interoperability, the lack of which we were constantly accused of. Therefore, it is unlikely that now doubts may arise as to whether Ukraine meets NATO standards."

Ihor Zhovkva also stated that the field of opportunities for Ukraine opened even more with the next NATO summit, which will be held in Lithuania in 2023.

"Recently in Kyiv, President Zelensky spoke with his Lithuanian colleague Gitanas Nauseda about the decisions that could be taken at the NATO summit regarding Ukraine."

When asked about EU membership and candidate status, Ihor Zhovkva stressed that Ukraine would not lose its EU candidate status.

"The European Commission has provided seven recommendations. We are not only ready, but we will implement all of them. The President of Ukraine has set clear deadlines: to do it by the end of this year. It is realistic.

We started this process when Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin approved the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. After that, we saw a very positive statement by the ambassadors of the Group of Seven, corresponding comments by the European Commission and individual states. Therefore, with the same dynamics with which we received candidate status, Ukraine will pass the implementation stage of all seven recommendations. I am sure that very soon, we will move to the next step, namely the beginning of negotiations on joining the EU. We will definitely surprise the world with our pace of joining the European Union."