New NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visits Ukraine in his first trip since taking office

Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — New NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has visited Ukraine in his first official trip since taking office and pledging continued support for Kyiv. Rutte met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday as air raid sirens twice went off in the Ukrainian capital. The new head of NATO vowed on Tuesday to help shore up Western support for Ukraine, which has been fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion since February 2022. Rutte expressed confidence that he can work with whomever is elected president of the United States, the alliance’s most powerful member, in November. That could be a key moment for Ukraine’s effort to ensure continuing Western support.