Zelenskyy: If Ukraine is not present at the NATO summit, it will be a victory for Putin – not over Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that Ukraine must be present at the NATO summit in The Hague, and that not being invited would look like "Putin's victory over NATO".

Zelenskyy was asked at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin whether he had been invited to the summit and under what conditions he would consider it successful for Ukraine.

The president replied that he had "received signals" from partners regarding Ukraine's participation and that he was counting on an honest conversation.

"What matters is Ukraine's participation and the outcome of its participation in this summit... In my opinion, if Ukraine is not present at the NATO summit, it will be a victory for Putin – not over Ukraine, but over NATO. Therefore, the decision is up to our partners," Zelenskyy said.

Earlier, it became known that because of Trump, NATO is preparing a mini-declaration for the summit in The Hague, presumably without mentioning Ukraine.

It was also reported that the American side supposedly opposes inviting Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the NATO summit. However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied these reports.