Ukraine¡¯s failure to secure an invitation to join NATO during the alliance¡¯s annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, disappointed many, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

But although the summit¡¯s did not offer a definitive timetable for Ukrainian accession, it did demonstrate a degree of unity and strategic foresight that would have been impossible had Donald Trump still been president of the United States.

To be sure, NATO leaders¡¯ promise to extend an official invitation to Ukraine ¡°when Allies agree and conditions are met¡± was somewhat nebulous and Zelenskyy, angered by the ambiguity, criticized the Western position as ¡°.¡± But U.S. President was right to that the war must end before Ukraine is allowed to join.