The presidents of nine NATO countries spoke in favor of Ukraine on Sunday. In a joint statement, Central and Eastern European countries condemned Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories and called on NATO to significantly increase military assistance to Ukraine.

The presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia and Romania said they fully support “the decision of the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008 regarding Ukraine’s future membership in the Alliance”.

Read also | Zelensky says Ukrainian forces liberated towns in Kherson region

The leaders of these countries also mentioned having witnessed firsthand the “effects of Russian aggression” in Ukraine when they visited the country “during the war”.

They further added that they would never recognize Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian regions.

“We reiterate our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We do not and will never recognize Russian attempts to annex Ukrainian territory,” the statement said.

The leaders further demanded that Russia immediately withdraw from all occupied regions.

“We support Ukraine in its defense against Russian invasion, call on Russia to withdraw immediately from all occupied territories, and encourage all Allies to significantly increase their military assistance to Ukraine,” the statement continued.

Read also | Zelensky vows to take back more of eastern Ukraine

The statement also called on “all who commit crimes of aggression” to be held accountable and brought to justice.

In his speech on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the success of the country’s soldiers is not limited to the recovery of Lyman, as he said some towns in the Kherson region had also been liberated.

“The story of the release of Lyman in the Donetsk region has become the most popular in the media. But the successes of our soldiers are not limited to Lyman,” Zelensky said during his nightly speech, reported by the Reuters news agency.

(With agency contributions)