NATO reported on the visit to Kyiv by the alliance’s Military Committee (CMC) chair, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, and the military representatives of all 32 member nations on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
This was the first time the full committee had visited Ukraine since April 2018 and followed up on issues raised during the North Atlantic Council’s June visit.
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Dragone said that the visit was in response to a promise he made to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapaty, whom he referred to as “ a good friend.”
“We are here in full strength, sending a clear message: the bond between NATO and Ukraine is strong and unbreakable,” Dragone said.
“Despite Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine and its reckless hybrid activities in NATO countries, we stand with Ukraine in the heroic defense of its sovereignty, its territorial integrity and the future of its people,” he added.
The aim of the visit was to understand Ukraine’s military priorities, receive an up-to-date assessment of the battlefield situation, and learn how NATO could apply lessons from Russia’s war on Ukraine in the future.
The CMC was also shown examples of Ukraine’s air defense, drone warfare and unmanned ground systems and took the opportunity to pay its respects at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine, at St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv.
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Dragone also addressed Russia’s current hybrid campaign against Europe, saying, “Those who think that by perpetrating an act of sabotage, cyberattack, and violation of the airspace in national NATO territory, they will undermine our support [to Ukraine] and our resolve. I will respond. You are failing.”
His comments echoed those made on Oct. 1 by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who warned that European countries should prepare for a long-running and continuing campaign of Russian hybrid attacks.
Alyona Hetmanchuk, Ukraine’s ambassador to NATO, also commented that the visit marked the first-ever Ukraine-NATO Council meeting at the Military Committee level on Ukrainian territory.
The NATO Military Committee delegation has since returned to Brussels.