The alliance added Sweden, laid out new ambitions for itself and offered long-term support for Ukraine, promising membership someday. But Kyiv wanted more.
Supporting Ukraine and clarifying its relationship with the alliance will be a dominant theme at an upcoming summit. But NATO’s efforts to strengthen its own defenses along its eastern flank will also be key.
The White House concluded that it had to get ahead of any argument by Vladimir V. Putin that the uprising was serving the interests of Russia’s adversaries.
After meeting with the Africans, including some who have close ties to Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that their peace plans were unrealistic.