THE HAGUE — Ukraine’s path to join NATO is still “irreversible” despite the Trump administration’s public proclamations that the war-torn country will not join the military alliance, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said at a press conference on Monday. 

Speaking before the start of the alliance’s annual summit in The Hague this week, Rutte said that NATO was still resolutely trying to deliver assistance to Ukraine, even as support from the United States, the largest individual donor of weapons to Kyiv, has dried up. 

Donald Trump has not requested any new aid, so what is being delivered was still authorized when Joe Biden was U.S. president.

“I can announce that now new estimates showing that our European and Canadian allies have stepped up, they will provide over €35 billion of additional security assistance to Ukraine for the year ahead,” the NATO chief said.

Rutte said there was agreement within the alliance on the need to keep up support. 

“This is the reason why, I think also last year in Washington, NATO allies agreed that for Ukraine, there is an irreversible path of Ukraine to enter NATO,” Rutte told reporters. “That is still true today, and it will still be true on Thursday after this summit.”

During NATO’s 2024 summit in Washington, the allies agreed on the “irreversible” language for Ukraine’s long-stalled bid, which has been a debate among member countries for nearly two decades. It’s a sign that there is still support in the alliance for Ukraine’s NATO membership, despite the Trump administration’s strong public and private push against Kyiv joining the alliance. 

Rutte said NATO’s communiqué emerging from the summit would include “important language” tying the alliance’s new pledge to spend 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense to support for Ukraine, but did not have specifics on how the new commitment would work. 

Rutte said most of the commitment to deliver air defenses to Ukraine made by NATO at last year’s Washington summit had been sent to Kyiv, but more was needed. He added that NATO was aiming for a fivefold increase in air defenses.

“We collectively have to fight back on making sure that Ukraine has what it needs with our support to take the fight concretely from step to step and make sure that they can defend Ukrainian territory,” the NATO chief said.

Rutte also underlined the continuing danger to the alliance posed by Russia.

“The most significant and direct threat facing this alliance remains the Russian Federation,” he said. “Moscow continues to wage war against Ukraine with the support of North Korea, Iran and China, as well as Belarus.”