Dmytro Kuleba on Ukraine Bridge, grain, NATO and aid

Jul 11, 2023

CBS Mornings interviews Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on July 17, 2023. Asked whether Ukraine is behind the Crimean Bridge attack, he says he learned about it from the news because of the time difference and has no official information, then argues that damage limits supplies to Russian forces in occupied Crimea and southern Ukraine. He calls the Vilnius NATO summit's results good because Ukraine's path was shortened and the NATO-Ukraine Council introduced, but says membership timing remains unclear despite strong assurances, including from U.S. leaders. Accepting the risk of immediate wartime accession, he stresses that Ukraine sought an invitation with membership after the war; partners can supply weapons while Ukraine fights. After a host reports Russia's same-morning grain-deal suspension, he alleges Russia gradually undermined renewals, cites a 20-percent grain-price fall after the initiative's introduction the previous year and predicts higher prices and harm to vulnerable people in Asia and Africa. He says inland routes cannot fully replace the ports and accuses Russia of using hunger for blackmail and commercial gain. Asked about the war's progress, he says Ukraine is winning and advancing daily in the south and east but urges patience, citing more than 19,000 children deported or abducted and 494 killed as war-related problems. Those assessments and figures remain attributed. Asked about uncertain support under a possible Republican president, he thanks Americans, Congress and the administration, respects the election as an internal affair and expects Republicans to secure continued aid through bipartisan support. The host expresses skepticism at the close. The interview establishes neither Ukrainian responsibility for the bridge attack, a NATO accession date, restored grain exports nor a future U.S. funding decision.

At the July 11, 2023 Vilnius summit, NATO allies reaffirmed Ukraine's future membership and continued support, shortened the accession path beyond the Membership Action Plan requirement and agreed to establish the NATO-Ukraine Council. The retrieved retrospective accounts provide no invitation date or membership timetable. In CBS's July 16 interview, Jake Sullivan says all 31 allies have committed to Ukraine's future in NATO, calls that future non-negotiable and recalls support for as long as necessary. In his July 17 CBS Mornings interview, Dmytro Kuleba calls the summit's overall results good, cites the shortened path and Council, but says Ukraine wanted clarity on when. He distinguishes an invitation from immediate wartime accession and says the latter was understood to follow the war. These are their respective accounts and assurances; no completed accession is asserted.