The Kremlin's aggressive policy has led to the fact that Sweden and Finland, which have maintained neutrality for many years, have received full membership in NATO and this is a good excuse that Ukraine will also join the Alliance later, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleskiy Reznikov said.

"There are the prospects that the Baltic Sea will soon become the ‘internal sea of NATO,’ which will be a good excuse for the Black Sea to become the ‘internal sea of NATO’ a little later. But for this, Ukraine already needs to join the Alliance," the press service of the Ministry of Defense quoted Reznikov as saying during a meeting with Swedish representatives in Kyiv.

He noted that the aggressive policy of the Kremlin led to the fact that Finland and Sweden, which had remained neutral for many years, received a full and legitimate desire to become members of NATO.

During the meeting, important security issues were discussed, in particular, bilateral projects to strengthen the capabilities of the Armed Forces and expectations of the upcoming NATO summit.

In turn, Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonson stressed that Sweden will stand side by side with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

"The purpose of our visit is not only to assess and understand the needs of the Ukrainian side in the near future, but also to understand how our assistance will develop in the future. We have an understanding of your operational needs. Of course, we will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes," he said.

And Swedish Minister of Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlen noted that Ukraine is a model for Europe and the world in the struggle for independence.

"Ukraine has shown Europe and the whole world the extraordinary efforts it has made to defend its state, demonstrated the extraordinary consolidation of society. In my opinion, the rest of the world should learn a lesson from all the events that took place in Ukraine," he said.