Final Word from Monday, June 26, 2023

The build-up to the Nato summit in Vilnius on July 11-12 has so far been visible mainly on the side of Nato countries and Ukraine. For example, Defense Min. Jana Černochová stressed in a speech last week that the eastern flank of Nato is the main line of defense against Russian imperialism and that the CR is intensively preparing to be able to rush to the aid of allies if they're attacked or to defend itself if necessary. Ex-Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that Poland and some other Nato countries might be willing to put troops on the ground in Ukraine if member states don't provide tangible security guarantees at the summit. Amb. to Nato Jakub Landov­ský said that Ukraine desperately needs ammunition and weapons, including fighters. On the Russian side, Vladimir Putin hinted on June 16, apparently for the first time, that if the F-16 fighters provided to Ukraine are based in Nato countries, Russia might hit them there. And now he's sending nuclear weapons and Yev­geny Prigozhin to Belarus, which is not only closer to Kyiv, as EU Affairs Min. Martin Dvořák noted yesterday, but also closer to Poland. [ Czech Republic Lithuania minister STAN ODS burn destroy airbase ]