Give Ukraine quick path to join NATO, Lithuania leader tells allies

FILE PHOTO: Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda looks on ahead of a working dinner for NATO leaders at the Catshuis, in The Hague, Netherlands June 27, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo

VILNIUS (Reuters) -Lithuania's president urged NATO leaders to be bolder in addressing Ukraine's push for membership at a summit in his country next week, saying this would boost Kyiv's battlefield performance while Moscow would see any caution as weakness.

In an interview with Reuters, President Gitanas Nauseda advised NATO allies to disregard fears that bringing Ukraine into the U.S.-led military alliance would provoke Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 22, 2022.