The European Parliament suddenly announces!, Related to the Ukraine Summit | NATO | Ukraine

On June 15th local time, an important news about Ukraine was reported: the European Parliament passed a resolution urging Ukraine to join NATO at the upcoming NATO summit in July.

The voting result was 425 in favor, 38 against, and 42 abstentions. In recent times, Ukraine has launched multiple rounds of counterattacks, but has been repeatedly repelled by Russia. Therefore, the significance of this decision by the European Parliament is naturally extraordinary.

In fact, this news was not sudden, there were already clues to everything. Although the European Parliament has pressed the green light, will NATO's doors easily open to Ukraine? What does all of this mean for the ongoing Ukraine crisis? Everything is still unknown.

The European Parliament calls on NATO to invite Ukraine to join. Image is an important resolution

Members of the European Parliament emphasized their expectation that Ukraine's accession process will begin and be completed as soon as the crisis ends. On the day of the vote, it was written in a news briefing on the official website of the European Parliament.

In the statements of the legislators, two key words are worth noting: first, after the crisis ends; Secondly, complete it as soon as possible.

The Ukrainian crisis has continued until now, and all parties are tired. The whole world is also thinking, when will all of this come to an end?

I'm afraid it's difficult to have a clear answer at the moment; I'm afraid the European Parliament is also difficult to accurately estimate.

Starting from June 4th local time, Ukraine launched an offensive in the directions of South Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Alkhovsk, but so far it has not been announced as successful. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that it has repelled multiple rounds of attacks by the Ukrainian army.

The United States recently announced a new round of $2.1 billion military aid plan to Ukraine; During his visit to Kiev, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau also announced the provision of $375 million in military aid to Ukraine.

Perhaps due to the highly uncertain situation, the European Parliament has passed a resolution expressing an urgent desire for Ukraine to "quickly" become a member of NATO and enter the "nuclear umbrella" of NATO.

Just three days before the European Parliament initiated the vote, French President Macron, German Chancellor Scholz, and Polish President Duda held talks under the "Weimar Triangle" mechanism, focusing on the situation in Ukraine.

Firstly, discuss how Europe can provide military aid to Ukraine, assist in its successful counterattack, and further coordinate within Europe.

Macron later announced that it would continue to provide weapons, ammunition, and armored vehicles to Ukraine in the coming weeks.

Secondly, discuss the humanitarian issues arising from the situation at the Kakhovka hydropower station.

Since the Kakhovka hydropower station was attacked and damaged about 10 days ago, the resulting floods have claimed 18 lives as of June 15th, and 7500 people have been evacuated from the flood area.

The third discussion topic has received much attention. According to the Office of the French President, the leaders of the three countries discussed how to "provide Ukraine with long-term security guarantees" during the meeting.

And this issue is expected to be discussed at the NATO Lithuania summit in July. Analysis suggests that the leaders of the three countries intend to urge NATO to invite Ukraine to join.

A critical summit

On the 15th, a two-day NATO defense ministers meeting was held in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Although NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg once again welcomed Ukraine's accession to NATO on the same day, its member countries still have significant differences on this issue. Some NATO member countries in Central and Eastern Europe support this decision and hope to provide Ukraine with a clear roadmap for joining the treaty next month at the NATO summit. However, many NATO member countries have expressed opposition to this, fearing that it will further escalate tensions and ultimately lead to direct war between NATO and Russia.

Previously, The Guardian cited former NATO Secretary General Rasmussen's view that at the NATO summit to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania in July, some NATO countries may send ground troops to Ukraine if NATO cannot provide "tangible security guarantees" to Kiev.

However, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg believes that "only sovereign, independent, and democratic Ukraine can become a member of NATO", and "it is impossible to discuss membership issues before Ukraine wins.".

The Elysee Palace news pointed out that Western countries are concerned that immediately accepting Ukraine to join NATO would trigger Article 5 of the NATO Charter, which is the principle of collective defense. This provision stipulates that all NATO member states have an obligation to provide assistance to other member states whose sovereignty or territorial integrity is threatened. This will automatically involve NATO member countries in the military conflict between Ukraine and Russia, triggering a new global crisis

Obviously, how NATO chooses is crucial. This also draws more attention from the outside world. At the crucial summit in July, even if NATO does not open its doors to Ukraine, will it become more involved in the situation and even confront Russia with weapons?

Zhang Hong, a researcher at the Russian Institute for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out to China News Agency reporters that there are still many difficulties in Ukraine's accession to NATO. However, it is expected that the Vilnius summit will make a decision to expand military aid to Ukraine, and it is not ruled out that Ukraine may even be given some kind of "post-war accession" diplomatic commitment.

Zhang Hong also believes that in the current situation, there is little possibility that certain Eastern and Central European countries will directly "end up". Without NATO's collective security commitment, European countries dare not publicly challenge Russia alone.

Anyway, Ukrainian President Zelensky stated that the Ukrainian military is "disappointed" that Ukraine has not received a clear positive response to joining the European Union and NATO so far. He hopes to receive a clear invitation to join NATO at the NATO summit in July.

A military exercise "play"

In fact, compared to making substantive actions, NATO is currently more enthusiastic about "showing off its muscles".

On June 12th, a large-scale air military exercise, reportedly the largest in NATO's history, kicked off. More than 10000 soldiers and approximately 250 aircraft from over 20 countries, including the United States and Germany, participated in the exercise. The exercise airspace involved countries such as Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

B-1 strategic bombers, F35 fighter jets, and long-range drones were deployed together in this military exercise, which is claimed to be aimed at strengthening transatlantic military cooperation and training NATO's ability to respond quickly to crises. Two special roles were also added - non NATO member countries Sweden and Japan.

Zhang Hong pointed out that Japan's participation in NATO military exercises, including the participation of Japan and South Korea in NATO summits and other activities, indicates that NATO's "Asia Pacific" may accelerate. The United States using the Ukraine crisis to engage in group confrontation will bring division and risks to East Asia.

Zhang Hong also analyzed that since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, NATO and Russia have frequently demonstrated their strength to each other through military exercises. NATO air exercises are aimed at putting pressure on Russia, and this goal has been achieved. Russia is also expanding its military and preparing for war, frequently conducting large-scale military exercises in multiple directions.

He further stated that by now, both NATO and Russia are not only demonstrating their strength, but also preparing for real engagement. Both sides are preparing for extreme situations, from "verbal enemies" to "real war opponents".

Recently, Russian President Putin stated that Russia has been trying to reach an agreement with NATO on European security principles for 30 years, but the response received has been "shameless deception and lies, or pressure and intimidation.".

Putin also pointed out that despite Moscow protests, NATO continues to expand and approach the Russian border, which forces Russia to take special military action because "it cannot respond by other means.".