A high-level NATO delegation visited Ukraine for the first time during the major war
This was announced by Pavlo Palisa, Deputy Head of the Office of the President. A NATO delegation led by Admiral Pierre Vandier – Supreme Commander
of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation – has arrived in Ukraine. According to Pavlo Palisa, this is the first visit by Alliance military officials of this rank since the start of the full-scale war.
One of the main topics of discussion was the participation of Ukrainian military personnel in upcoming NATO exercises in the role of a simulated adversary – the Red Team. As Palisa noted, the experience of Ukrainian units participating in such scenarios last year demonstrated new approaches to warfare to the allies.
He said that during the training scenarios, Ukrainian teams demonstrated a significant advantage. Against this backdrop, the Office of the President emphasised that Ukraine is now acting not only as a state in need of security, but also as a country capable of providing it.
Separately, the parties discussed the future of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Action and Training Centre (JATEC), which was officially opened in early 2025. As Palisa reported, the final stage of deploying Ukrainian command and control systems, developing analytical capabilities and scaling up training programmes is currently underway.
As a reminder, NATO has withdrawn troops from its mission in Iraq to Europe against the backdrop of the war with Iran
