Czech president-elect Petr Pavel endorses Ukraine’s bid to join NATO

Mr Pavel, a retired Nato general, said Ukraine would be “morally and practically ready” to join the Western alliance once the conflict had ended. The Czech Republic was the first Western country to send tanks and infantry fighting vehicles – Soviet-designed T72s and BMP1s – to Kyiv, part of a series of deliveries of heavy weapons that reportedly began as early as March 2022. After much agonising and soul-searching, countries including the UK, the United States and Germany have begun answering Kyiv’s repeated calls to send modern, Western-made tanks such as Leopard 2s, Challenger 2s and M1 Abrams. Should Ukraine remain neutral ?