On Wednesday, July 26, the first ever meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council took place at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

This new format of political cooperation was established at the NATO Summit in Vilnius and envisages meetings of Ukraine and NATO Allies as equals. It is also a tool for bringing our country closer to NATO membership.

Today's meeting was convened at the initiative of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy aimed at holding extraordinary consultations regarding the security situation in the Black Sea following the suspension of Russia's participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Ukraine and NATO member states discussed an action plan to strengthen security in the Black Sea region. The Ukrainian side noted that after energy terror against our country, Russia resorted to food terror against the world. Ukraine called for a decisive response to the actions of the terrorist state.

Within the framework of the NATO-Ukraine Council the parties agreed to take measures to counter Russia's food blackmail and its attempts to remove responsibility for the aggravation of the food crisis.

On the Ukrainian side, the meeting was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine - Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov and the Deputy Head of the Main Operational Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov.