Ben Wright
Political correspondent

In a corner of Vilnius airport, the planes of Nato leaders are parked up.

I’m sitting on a minibus for the travelling UK press pack with Air Force One towering beside us on the tarmac.

It was a quickish flight over from London - just time for a cooked breakfast and a chat with Rishi Sunak, who we were summoned up to meet at the front of the plane.

We then had a very squashed mini press conference, squeezed between plane seats.

On trips like this political journalists like me always get valuable face-to-face time with the PM and the chance to ask him questions on any subject we like.

On Ukraine, his answers were expected - he wants Ukraine to become a member, but not while the conflict with Russia grinds on.

It will be a major subject at this summit.

Image source, PA Media

Sunak has just touched down in Vilnius - so what does he want from his 30 Nato allies?

He'll be pushing for countries to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defence, in line with an agreement by Nato members made in 2008.

Downing Street said only nine out of 30 members were hitting that target last year.

This is projected to rise to 20 allies by next year, but government sources say he wants to leave Lithuania with a plan for all members to start meeting the target.

Elsewhere, he wants to urge his fellow leaders to learn the lessons of Russia's invasion and make its armed forces "more lethal and deployable".

The prime minister will also announce a hike in production of artillery shells in the UK as part of a £200m deal with British defence contractor BAE systems.

Ben Wright
Political correspondent in Vilnius

Image source, PA Media

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Ukraine’s "rightful place" is in Nato, as he heads to the alliance's annual summit in Vilnius.

Speaking on the plane to Lithuania, he said it was important that the commitment of Ukraine eventually joining Nato is reaffirmed and there’s "demonstrable progress" towards that goal.

But Sunak also said it’s not a question for now, while there’s a conflict with Russia ongoing.

And he said security guarantees for Ukraine were important in sending a strong deterrent message to Russia that Putin "can’t wait people out".

"We are with Ukraine for as long as it takes. Everyone is in it for the long haul," he said.

Nato hasn't seen any movement of Wagner group mercenary fighters to Belarus, the head of the alliance Jens Stoltenberg says.

Wagner fighters and their chief Yevgeny Prigozhin were reportedly exiled to Belarus – just across the border from Lithuania, where the Nato summit is being held – following last month’s mutiny, although it is unclear if they have moved there.

Their potential presence in Belarus is being viewed as a threat by several neighbours. Poland, for example, started moving 1,000 troops to the east of the country over concerns that Wagner fighters could raise tensions on its border with Belarus.

"We are monitoring the situation very closely," Stoltenberg told journalists a little earlier.

We're all here talking about Nato, so let's just recap what it is, why it started, and what it's for.

Nato - or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - was formed a few years after the Second World War in 1949 by 12 countries, including the US, UK, Canada and France.

Since then it's expanded a lot - it now has 31 members, external.

Crucially, these countries agree to help one another if they are attacked - which is why Ukraine won't be joining the alliance while it's still at war with Russia.

The organisation's original goal was to block Soviet expansion in Europe after World War Two. And, after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, many Eastern European countries joined Nato.

Russia strongly opposes Ukraine's request to join, fearing this would bring Nato too close to its own territory. However, the alliance arrived on another of Russia's borders in April, when Finland became a member.

Take a look at this map of Nato members in Europe:

Image source, .

Read more about Nato here.

Image source, EPA

Turkey has agreed to support Sweden’s bid to join Nato - it was one of the last two members (alongside Hungary) that had vetoed the Nordic country’s attempts to join the alliance.

"I am very happy, it is a good day for Sweden,” said Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Every Nato country must agree to a new member, and Turkey had blocked Sweden’s attempts to join the alliance, accusing it of hosting Kurdish militants.

Turkey had demanded the extradition of dozens of people Ankara claimed were terrorists. Their relationship was strained further over Quran burnings in the Sweden, which Turkey strongly condemned.

President Erdogan appeared to link the change of heart to the EU re-opening frozen membership talks with Ankara - but EU officials were quick to reject the demand, saying those were two separate issues.

Biden may have to convince Nato of US commitment to Ukrainepublished at 09:28 British Summer Time 11 July 2023

09:28 BST 11 July 2023

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, Reuters

As Joe Biden meets with his fellow leaders at the Nato summit, he may have to do some work convincing them that the American commitment to Ukraine remains strong as the US heads toward next year’s presidential election.

The Republican candidates hoping to challenge Biden in November 2024 have been divided on US support to Ukraine.

Some, like front-runner for the nomination Donald Trump, have appeared equivocated.

Others, including former vice-president Mike Pence and former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, have been full-throated in their support.

The discord is only going to grow as the campaign heats up. And whoever the Republican nominee is may feel motivated to reflect the growing sentiment among conservative voters that the US is wasting money and resources in its support of Ukraine.

Biden administration officials privately acknowledge that the campaign will unavoidably complicate US support for Ukraine at least temporarily.

Biden’s goal will be to acknowledge this – and then assure his fellow democratically elected leaders that US will be a reliable partner as long as he is in office – whether that’s for 18 more months or four more years.

We've just seen this picture of US President Joe Biden arriving in Vilnius for the Nato summit - he's walking alongside Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.

Image source, Reuters

Biden is hoping to assure the rest of the alliance that Washington is a reliable partner in Ukraine's war against Russia - even as politicians at home remain divided over the US's continued support for Kyiv.

The US president has pledged to support Ukraine, but will stop short of ratifying its entry into the alliance at the moment over fears that Nato could get drawn into the war with Russia.

He'll also likely be asked about his decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine – a weapon with a history of causing civilian casualties that has been banned by more than 100 countries, including several Nato members.

Image source, EPA

Ahead of the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked to be given further security guarantees from the 31 members of Nato.

However, he also stressed that the ultimate goal was to be given membership in the alliance.

"[Jens] Stoltenberg knows my position," the Ukrainian leader said. "We've told them numerous times 'don't knock the ground from under our feet'.”

Read more here.

Image source, Reuters

The head of Nato has warm words for Kyiv this morning, saying the military alliance's members will "send a very strong and positive message from Nato to Ukraine" at the summit.

Speaking in Vilnius this morning, Jens Stoltenberg says Ukraine has come a long way since 2008, when Nato initially agreed that Ukraine "will" become a member of the alliance at some point.

"Ukraine is much closer to Nato, so I think the time has come to reflect that in Nato decisions," he says.

Nato is divided over Ukraine’s membership bid - eastern European states want Kyiv to join as a full member, while others are more cautious as they fear being dragged into a direct conflict with Russia. In either case, Kyiv admits it cannot join during the war.

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent in Vilnius

The overarching aim of the meeting is for Nato to convince President Vladimir Putin of the alliance's long-term military commitment to Ukraine.

Officials hope this could begin to change the Russian leader's thinking, putting doubt in his mind that he can outwait the West.

As such, some see this summit as potentially as important as military gains on the battlefield in persuading Putin to change his strategy.

So some Nato members will promise Ukraine new security guarantees. And the alliance will also deepen its institutional links with Ukraine, giving Kyiv the ability to summon meetings of the alliance as an equal partner round the table.

But perhaps most importantly, some members are expected to set out more explicitly Ukraine's pathway to joining the alliance.

Nato agreed at its 2008 summit in Bucharest that Ukraine "will" become a member. But the alliance did not say how and when this might happen. Critics say giving Ukraine a destination but no itinerary allowed Putin to risk his invasions in both 2014 and 2022.

Good morning. The Nato summit is getting started today as the military alliance's leaders descend on Lithuania’s capital Vilnius.

The war in Ukraine will feature heavily in the talks today and tomorrow, but don’t expect Kyiv to be part of the Nato alliance by the end of this summit - Washington has ruled that out, but says there is a pathway for future membership.

Following a brief stopover in the UK yesterday, US President Joe Biden will meet the majority of the leaders for the first time since he gave the go ahead to supply cluster bombs to Ukraine. More than 100 countries - including the UK - are signed up to a treaty which bans both the production and storage of the controversial weapons.

We'll also see Finland at the table for the first time. The Nordic country, which shares a border with Russia, joined in April this year having previously been neutral.

We'll be here with live updates throughout the day, stick with us.