2023 Nato Summit in Vilnius

This year’s Nato Summit took place with one overriding challenge - the continuing war in Ukraine and the Ukrainian push for NATO membership as quickly as possible.

Despite a bumpy and uneasy start to the Summit with comments from the US President Joe Biden about the likelihood of Ukrainian NATO membership and rebuttals from President Zelensky, the Summit has made some significant steps.

• Sweden is now a full NATO member following the u-turn from Turkey only moments before the opening of the Summit.

• A roadmap for Ukrainian membership to NATO was established with members having agreed to remove the requirement for a Membership Action Plan, removing one key hurdle to becoming a member and streamlining the process.

• The NATO-Ukraine Council has been established to further Ukrainian security

• The UK will launch a project through NATO to establish a medical rehabilitation centre to support the recovery and return of soldiers to Ukraine’s lines of defence after being injured in combat. The centre will be twinned with the UK’s world leading facility Stanford Hall, drawing on remote UK expertise and support to accelerate recovery and reduce the long-term impacts of war.