Ukraine's foreign minister says Europe won't be safe until Ukraine is part of NATO

If countries like Czechia were not providing arms to Ukraine, it would not have ended the war or saved lives, as some have argued, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at a meeting of Czech foreign ambassadors in Prague on Monday. He told the ambassadors that military aid to Ukraine needs to be strengthened rather than reduced, adding that a defence industry forum would be held in Ukraine in the autumn, to which hundreds of leading arms companies from around the world have been invited.

He emphasised the importance of Ukraine's victory and future NATO membership for the rest of Europe, saying that Europe would not be safe until Ukraine was part of the alliance. His speech followed a bilateral meeting with his Czech counterpart Jan Lipavský.

The annual meeting of Czech ambassadors was opened by Prime Minister Petr Fiala on Monday morning. The event, which is taking place over three days, is an opportunity for a number of foreign policy, security, consular, EU and economic topics, including the war in Ukraine and its impact on Europe and the world, to be discussed.