NATO will be more secure with Ukraine by its side - Blinken

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this in his speech at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute on Tuesday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Ukraine is much more than a recipient of advice and assistance. Your warriors are confronting the greatest threat to transatlantic security since the end of the Cold War," he said.

Blinken added that the Ukrainian Defense Forces have a lot of combat experience in modern warfare. "You have a lot to teach the alliance, and NATO will be more secure with your military by our side," he said.

Blinken also stressed that during the NATO Washington Summit in July "tangible steps" will be taken to strengthen NATO's role in building a resilient and capable Ukrainian force, supporting its ongoing reforms and better integrating Ukraine into the alliance.

"We are bringing Ukraine closer to and then into NATO. We'll make sure that Ukraine's bridge to NATO is strong and well-lit," Blinken said.

In this context, he noted that Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration would be bolstered by a series of mutually reinforcing bilateral security agreements.

"We now have 32 countries who are negotiating these agreements with Ukraine, nine of which have already been completed. These agreements send a clear message that Ukraine can count on its partners for sustainable long-term support," Blinken said.

He paid particular attention to the upcoming bilateral security agreement between Ukraine and the U.S., under which, according to him, the United States "will support Ukraine's defense and security across a range of essential capabilities from its Air Force to its air defense, from drones to demining."

"Our bilateral security agreement will accelerate our joint efforts to build and build up Ukraine's defense industrial base so that you can produce artillery, ammunition, air defenses and other crucial weapons you need here in Ukraine," Blinken added.

He said that even now efforts are being made at the bilateral level to increase defense production in Ukraine, attract private investments, and maintain interaction between Ukrainian and American defense industry companies.

"All of these measures -- Ukraine's increased integration with and support from NATO, a growing network of security agreements with individual countries, a booming defense industrial base -- all of these will ensure that the moment conditions are met and allies agree, Ukraine's invitation and accession to the alliance will be swift and smooth," Blinken added.