Group of 30 countries working on security guarantees for Ukraine: NATO
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NATO and 30 partner nations are finalizing security guarantees for Ukraine, as Ukrainian attacks target Russian infrastructure and halt the Druzhba pipeline.
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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks with reporters at the White House on August 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte revealed that a coalition of 30 countries, including Japan and Australia, is actively working to establish long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, as military tensions with Russia continue as the latter continues to make advances in the Donbass.
In an interview with Fox News, Rutte stated that the effort is being led by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
"Over the last couple of months, under the leadership of Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, a group of now 30 countries, including Japan and Australia, are working on this concept of security guarantees," Rutte said.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, along with European Union leaders, at the White House.
According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead a team of national security advisors and NATO officials in the next phase of drafting the proposed security guarantees. The initiative represents a coordinated NATO effort to offer long-term commitments to Kiev amid the ongoing war.
Ukraine targets Russian infrastructure during talks
As the high-level talks took place in Washington, Ukrainian forces launched attacks targeting strategic infrastructure inside Russia.
Russia's security services said yesterday that they had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to detonate a high-power explosive on the Crimean Bridge, a key route connecting Crimea to mainland Russia.
According to the FSB, the car bomb was intended to cross into Russia’s southern Krasnodar Region from Georgia. It had been transported from Ukraine via multiple third countries. Ukrainian operatives planned to load the vehicle onto a transporter truck before handing it off to another individual who would unknowingly drive it to Crimea via the Crimean Bridge, becoming an unwitting suicide bomber.
Additionally, on Sunday, Russian electronic warfare systems reportedly foiled a drone strike on the Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant, calling it a terrorist attempt. Meanwhile, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced on the same day that oil exports to Hungary had been halted indefinitely.
The interruption, he said, was due to a Ukrainian strike on the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Russian crude to both Hungary and Slovakia. The suspension raises concerns over regional energy stability, as the Druzhba pipeline remains a vital artery for oil transit into Central Europe.
