European Leaders Call for Increased NATO Support and Membership for Ukraine

The Bucharest Nine, an informal group of Central and Eastern European countries, met to discuss their approach at the upcoming NATO Summit and agreed that NATO should boost support for Ukraine and consider adding the country to the alliance. The group was formed in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. The leaders also expect to upgrade political relations with Ukraine and launch a new political track that will lead to Ukraine's membership in NATO. NATO has responded to Russia's invasion of Ukraine by deploying multinational battlegroups in several countries.