NATO secretary general invites Zelenskyy to NATO summit in The Hague, ANP says
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is said to have officially invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the NATO Summit in The Hague, scheduled for 24-26 June 2025, resolving earlier uncertainty over Ukraine's participation.
Source: Dutch news agency ANP, citing NATO sources, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Rutte reportedly extended the invitation during a meeting with Zelenskyy on 2 June, after which Zelenskyy confirmed Ukraine's representation at the summit.
The specific events Zelenskyy will attend remain unclear, ANP sources noted.
Discussions have included the possibility of his participation in NATO defence or foreign ministers' meetings, side events outside the official programme, or a dinner for the leaders of NATO member states hosted by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, who has recently resigned following a coalition collapse, has supported the idea of inviting Zelenskyy.
Background: There have also been reports that the US is opposed to Zelenskyy being invited to the NATO summit. However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denied these claims.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
11 minutes ago
- Forbes
Aston Martin 'Spy Car': Spy And Mistress Tour Europe Stealing War Plans
Now "Ulster bodied", this Aston Martin's wartime spy secrets can now be revealed. Tell me the plot, I say. "A British Army intelligence officer drives around Europe, just before World War 2, with his mistress, who's actually somebody else's wife and pretending she's Dutch, but really German," says retired construction company CEO Neil Pickstone. "They're masquerading as tourists in a 1935 Aston Martin, which has been fitted with secret compartments engineered by Aston and the Royal Automobile Club. "They befriend young, wealthy German army officers, steal German war plan documents, take photos of military installations, smuggling them back to Britain in those hidden compartments, and never get caught despite being stopped and the car being dismantled by the Gestapo." It sounds like a Netflix or Apple TV thriller. Except it's true, actually rather more extensive, and thoroughly documented, coming to light when two men from Cheshire, England, Pickstone and friend Simon Isles, bought the seen-better-days Aston in 2022. They'd been told the car was used to smuggle currency out of Nazi Germany, but became increasingly aware things didn't add up... Originally an Aston Martin Mark 2 Sports Saloon, the spy car chassis is retained under the "Ulster" ... More body. The car is now a faithful recreation of an "Ulster-bodied" 1930s Aston Martin race car. In the hands of British Army intelligence officer Robert William Fenton "Tony" Mellor it was a 1935 Aston Martin Mk2, but the original body way beyond repair. So Pickstone and Isles rebodied it, but retained its secrets. "Its original owner, Lieutenant, later Major, Mellor was born to a wealthy family. Come the threat of a second World War, back then there was no government budget for intelligence work. Much of it was self-funded by well-off military officers," said Pickstone. "Buying the Aston Martin in 1937, at 25, was a considered decision: in 1930s Germany, army officers were also from wealthy backgrounds. They enjoyed racing their cars, so when Mellor and mistress Ellen Magnee turned up in Germany in the the Aston, seemingly as rich tourists, German officers recognised it as a fast car and engaged in conversation; Mellor got to know them, taking opportunities to gather all sorts of intelligence". The only known image of Major Tony Mellor and his Aston Martin "spy car" comes out of storage. In parallel with deceiving German military officers, Mellor was developing close ties to the French Resistance. The Aston Martin became key to some of their missions, so appearances, especially during night-time car-bound exploits, were crucial. Fenton fitted Bosch headlights to replicate the look of a German staff car at night. He also stole a German military vehicle "exhaust whistle", diverted exhaust gasses sounding their imminent arrival at checkpoints, barriers lifted in advance, Mellor and his French Resistance passengers hurtling through at 80mph leaving guards little chance of spotting the night-time ruse. Such antics were just part of the documented story, archived in files that came with the Aston and in Mellor's Cheshire Regiment museum. "The car came with a story about helping Jewish people pre-war, smuggling silver and currency out of Germany," said Pickstone. "It came with the secret compartments, the altered exhaust, and all the bits and pieces that made it special. "But the story about smuggling currency was fabricated. This was a spy story." Pickstone and Isles knitted together Mellor's memoires, the car's history file and archived accounts of then-fellow officers to piece together an extraordinary tale. It also raised the question of why, when a senior officer spoke about recommending Major Mellor for the Victoria Cross (the highest military bravery honour) there was a resounding silence from then military chiefs. However, Mellor was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Vermilion Star for his contribution to the French war effort. One of the secret compartments, the large tube, in situ. The Gestapo missed its hidden secrets even ... More after dismantling the Aston. In the car's file is a letter from Aston Martin to Mellor. It notes his attendance at the Aston Martin factory where he was instructed in repair and maintenance of the car on his European "tours". "The letter to Mellor is for, whatever purpose, from Aston Martin to confirm he spent time working in the factory on his car. We believe it's to document what he'd allegedly been doing for six weeks while out of barracks. We believe he was actually designing secret compartments," said Pickstone. "The first modification was a cross tube on the chassis. It had a locking mechanism that couldn't be spotted unless you knew what you were looking for," said Isles. Meanwhile, the Royal Automobile Club provided a battery. It worked normally, but also had a hidden compartment. "Just pre-war he was travelling around Europe with Ellen Magnee and got stopped by the Gestapo. They stripped the car, but found nothing," says Pickstone."In the archives there's evidence he said it was a good job because he had the plans for the Siegfried Line hidden in the secret compartments." The restored German Army officer staff car exhaust whistle. Mellor Captures 500 German Soldiers On His Day Off While he left the Aston in Holland for much of the war, his antics continued. He was one of the first British soldiers onto Sicily in 1943 where he is believed to have had a brief dalliance with a local countess. But he was also part of the spearhead during 1944's Normandy landings. "Soon after he was granted 24 hours leave to see 'friends' in a nearby village. He took a wireless man, a jeep and a driver. We believe he was meeting a previous girlfriend, and to gather intel about what the Germans were doing," said Pickstone. "En route they came across the Eighth Army, parked up approaching a bridge where there was a report of a German Tiger tank which had destroyed several Allied tanks. The commander of the Sherman tank at the head of the column refused to go any further. "Mellor and a French freedom fighter went to have a look, but the 'Tiger' was just a tracked vehicle. They captured it, just as a German staff car appeared; the Sherman opens fire, the staff car crashes, and the occupants captured too. "More freedom fighters appeared and proceeded to capture 200 Germans in the woods, locked them in a barn while they went to help defend a nearby town, but ended up capturing 300 more German soldiers. 'They were terrified of the French, so wanted to surrender to a British officer. Mellor ended up capturing 500 Germans on his day off...' The question remains: was Major Mellor the inspiration for James Bond? While it's mainly Cheshire lanes that pass under the Aston's wheels these days, you wonder what other tales of derring-do war-time archives, due to be opened under the UK Government's "100 year rule" in the 2030s, could reveal. Major Mellor retired to an Oxfordshire village, but evidence remained of his past. Upon his passing, his cottage was sold, the new owners discovering a secret compartment in the basement, evidently designed to store the tools of a spy's trade. Asking Pickstone and Isles if they thought Mellor, a neighbour of 007 creator Ian Fleming, a fellow intelligence officer, was the basis for James Bond they simply said I should draw my own conclusions. I'll simply let you draw yours...
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Ukraine hits out at Europe's payout from frozen Russian cash
By Tom Balmforth and John O'Donnell KYIV/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Ukraine's government has criticised a decision to take billions of euros of Russian wealth frozen in Europe and hand it to Western investors, warning that it weakened Europe's stand against Moscow. The criticism follows a move last month by Belgium's Euroclear to take 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) of Russian investor cash held at the clearing firm to pay Westerners who lost out when Moscow seized their money held in Russia. Now Ukraine has warned that it sends a wrong signal and threatens to weaken Europe's hand when dealing with Russia, while it debates using the entire $300 billion of Russian wealth stranded in Europe to rebuild and defend the battered country. "If private investors are compensated before the victims of war, it won't be justice," said Iryna Mudra, a senior official in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, in Kyiv's first public comments on the move. "It creates a perception of inconsistency, of Europe wavering in its resolve," Mudra, a deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration, told Reuters. "International law requires that the aggressor is to make full reparation to the victim and not to investors who ... entered a high-risk jurisdiction," said Mudra, who is in charge of legal affairs in Zelenskiy's administration. The criticism comes at a critical time for the Western alliance backing Kyiv, with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration distancing itself from Europe and casting doubt over its commitment to Ukraine's defence and Russian sanctions. Mudra, one of a small circle of officials that set policy, also stressed the importance of maintaining control of the frozen Russian assets, which chiefly belong to its central bank with the majority held at Euroclear. The central bank assets were frozen at the outset of war in the single most powerful sanction directed at Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a penalty that is deeply resented in Moscow. Euroclear in March gained clearance from Belgium, its principal legal authority, to make the payout, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters, after the European Union changed its sanctions regime last year to make this possible. A spokesperson for the Belgian government said: "This is not a Belgian decision but the application of a European regulation decided unanimously by the member states." Euroclear has emphasised that it only implements sanctions and does not take decisions about lifting them. 'MIND BOGGLING' Three Russian sources recently told Reuters that Russian President Vladimir Putin's conditions for ending the war include the resolution of the frozen assets issue. Ukraine, meanwhile, is campaigning fiercely against any return of the money to Moscow. Euroclear alone held 195 billion euros of cash in March - mainly Russian central bank funds, with some belonging to Russian investors. "If it is returned to Russia, it will be converted into tanks, missiles, drones, training of new troops," said Ukraine's Mudra. "The world ... must demonstrate that unlawful war brings irreversible financial consequences." Some see the frozen Russian wealth as a lifeline for Kyiv. In the past, the West has engineered loans and payments to Ukraine from the interest on the stranded Russian stockpile, which Putin denounced as theft. Ukrainian officials fear the Euroclear payout, even though it does not affect the central bank money, could undermine their efforts to secure an agreement on using the wider pool of Russian assets to help their country. Mykola Yurlov, an official at Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the payout set a bad precedent, while Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian parliamentarian, was also critical. "Western companies were operating in Russia at their own risk. Why are these companies basically asking their societies to compensate for this risk?" Rudik told Reuters. "We need this money to rebuild and defend Ukraine." Last month's move also drew criticism abroad. "It is mind boggling that the priority is to reimburse corporate interests rather than spend the money defending Ukraine," said Jacob Kirkegaard, a sanctions expert with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington-based think tank. While the payout to investors left frozen Russian central bank reserves untouched, it made a dent in the stockpile of Russian wealth that gives the EU leverage over Moscow. More importantly for critics, it sets a worrying precedent. European Union leaders are expected to renew sanctions, including a freeze of Russian assets, at a summit meeting in June, although they could yet face an attempt by Hungary to derail those efforts.
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Opinion - Ukraine takes the war to Russia — have the nukes launched yet?
If you believe Russia's apologists, then Ukraine, hot off bold strikes on military airfields spanning Russia and the Kerch Strait Bridge in Crimea, is recklessly risking giving Russian President Vladimir Putin a reason to go nuclear. The notion is utter nonsense. Ukraine, by taking the war to Russia, is just embracing a U.S. Army saying: 'Keep on keeping on.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not provoking World War III but defending his country by striking legitimate Russian targets and weapons systems. In doing so, Zelensky is reminding the West that Ukraine remains resilient. They are not losing; they are very much still in the game. As Clifford D. May, founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies described the situation, 'Those who have been saying Putin is winning are wrong. The Ukrainians are holding their own, even though the support they've been receiving from the United States and other free nations has been woefully insufficient.' Ukraine keeps on keeping on. Adversity brings that out of you. This was evident early in the war when Zelensky refused to be evacuated from Kyiv by the U.S., instead stating, 'The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.' Despite Vice President J.D. Vance and President Trump's public chiding of Zelensky in February, telling him 'you don't have the cards,' he did have them. He had been holding them close to the vest for nearly a year. On Sunday, Zelensky's special operators delivered two stunning blows to the Kremlin. Ukrainian attack drones, concealed in Russian cargo trucks, destroyed 34 percent of the Russian strategic bomber fleet stationed at four airbases: Belaya, Olenya, Dyagilevo, and Ivanovo. All of these were launch sites for cruise missile attacks against Ukrainian cities. Then on Tuesday, the Security Service of Ukraine announced it had struck the Russian Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects Crimea to Russia's Krasnodar Krai region. 'The underwater supports of the piers were severely damaged at the bottom level — 1,100 kg of explosives in TNT equivalent contributed to this,' the service announced. 'In fact, the bridge is in a state of emergency.' The bridge has since reopened, but the message was delivered and received. Zelensky has no intention of capitulating to the Kremlin. Nor is Ukraine going to allow Russia's nuclear bluffing to deter it. Team Trump needs to be sending the same message and not leaving Europe to go it alone. On Tuesday, the Pentagon abruptly announced that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth would neither attend nor remotely participate in the 57-member Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels. The group has collectively provided Ukraine with over $126 billion in weapons and military assistance, including $66.5 billion from the U.S. Then later on Tuesday, retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. and Special Envoy Keith Kellogg fell back on familiar language and concerns of nuclear escalation stating, 'I'm telling you the risk levels are going way up. When you attack an opponent's part of their national survival system, which is their nuclear triad, that means your risk level goes up because you don't know what the other side's going to do.' But Ukraine did not strike Russia's nuclear triad or threaten their national survival. They struck a cruise missile delivery system that was deliberately targeting Ukrainian civilians from airfields deep within the Russian interior where Putin thought they were secure. Why is it that when Russia attacks Ukraine's 'national survival system' that Kyiv cannot strike back? Ukraine entrusted its 'national survival system' to the signatories of the Budapest Memorandum in 1994 when they gave up their nuclear weapons. Russia attacked their vulnerability, Ukraine responded in kind. Russia found out 'what the other side was going to do' and now the Kremlin is crying foul. Hopefully, Trump pushed back against Moscow's nuclear bluffing during his Wednesday telephone call with Putin. Russia continues to attack while Ukraine continues to defend their country. Innovation, ingenuity, and the guts to try are leveling the playing field much to Putin's displeasure. This war cannot be contained to just within the Ukrainian borders. The Biden administration already tried that with HIMARS munitions. Sanctuary only affords opportunity for the Kremlin despite Ukraine always finding a way to overcome adversity. As the White House militarily distances itself from Ukraine and the European theater in favor of the Indo-Pacific theater, Europe is rallying to the Ukrainian cause under the leadership of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. London and Brussels understand Ukraine is only the tip of the iceberg and that more robust investment in their defense is critical to their security. As Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates cautioned, 'My own view, having dealt with him and having spent most of my life working on Russia and the Soviet Union, is Putin feels that he has a destiny to recreate the Russian Empire… As my old mentor, Zbigniew Brzezinski once said, without Ukraine, there can be no Russian Empire.' Last week, retired U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus warned that Putin will invade a NATO country if he is successful in Ukraine. He went on to say that Russia could launch an incursion into a Baltic state — Lithuania being most at risk — to test Western resolve or as a precursor to a wider Russian offensive. Last month, Russian forces began to reoccupy and fortify military bases along the border with NATO member Finland. The Zapad-2025 joint military exercise with Belarus and Russia is a potential rehearsal for an invasion scenario in the Suwałki Gap — a 40 mile wide stretch of border between Poland and Lithuania that separates Russian-controlled Kaliningrad from Belarus. If Russia were to occupy the gap, it would divide and isolate the Baltic States from NATO. Germany recognized the threat, and deployed a tank brigade to Lithuania in May. Russia is not interested in a peaceful outcome in Ukraine. On Tuesday, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram that the point of holding peace talks with Ukraine was to ensure a swift and complete Russian victory. 'Our Army is pushing forward and will continue to advance,' he wrote. 'Everything that needs to be blown up will be blown up, and those who must be eliminated will be.' Zelensky and his army are in the way of Putin's desired destiny. Europe is finally coming around to recognizing that fact. No amount of Russian whining and bluffing about Ukraine provoking a nuclear war should stop London and Brussels from ensuring Zelensky soundly defeats Putin in Ukraine. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Sweet served 30 years as an Army intelligence officer. Mark Toth writes on national security and foreign policy. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
