Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine has been invited to a NATO summit in The Hague at the end of June.
It follows his warning that excluding the country would have granted "a victory" to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is staunchly against Ukraine joining the Alliance.
"This invitation to the NATO summit is very important," Zelensky stated on Monday after a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Vilnius, Lithuania.
In late May, Zelensky urged NATO members to invite Ukraine to the summit scheduled from 24 to 26 June in The Hague, Netherlands.
"Ukraine’s absence from the NATO summit would be a victory for Putin, not against Ukraine, but against NATO," Zelensky asserted at a press conference last week.
Kyiv is keen to join NATO or to obtain "security guarantees" from the Alliance to deter further Russian aggression.
Moscow views NATO membership for Ukraine as unacceptable and perceives the Alliance as an existential threat at its borders, a stance also held by former US President Donald Trump.
Crimea bridge
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian intelligence service, SBU, announced a new "special operation" on the Crimean Bridge linking Crimea with the mainland of Ukraine on Tuesday, reporting significant damage to several of the bridge's piers using underwater explosives.
This marks the third attack on the bridge, with the previous two also targeting its structure. The SBU stated that this operation was meticulously planned over several months and confirmed that no civilians were harmed.
SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk described the bridge as a "legitimate target" due to its use by Russians to supply their troops. He emphasised, "Crimea is Ukraine."
On Tuesday, the bridge was closed for several hours; however, traffic has since resumed, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.
This action against the bridge comes just two days after Ukraine's 'Operation Spiderweb' targeted four air force bases, some deep within Russia, resulting in the destruction of at least thirteen Russian fighter jets.
