Odesa CNN —As Washington prepares to welcome world leaders for a landmark summit commemorating 75 years of NATO, some 5,000 miles away I was having a heart wrenching dinner conversation. Michael Bociurkiw Chrystia Chudczak“My dreams have been shattered,” a Ukrainian friend, Inna Ivanova, told me at a restaurant tucked away in an obscure corner of Odesa. The question on everyone’s lipsLooming over the summit will be the question of Ukraine’s desperately sought NATO membership. Meanwhile in WashingtonThe forecasted record heat won’t be the only thing making NATO leaders in Washington break into a sweat. Given the high stakes for Ukraine, people here will be watching developments in Washington closely.

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Persons: Michael Bociurkiw, Odesa, Michael Bociurkiw Chrystia, ”, Inna Ivanova, Inna, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s, Ukraine Ivanna, Tsintsadze, Biden, Oleksandr Gimanov, Bohdan Chomiak, What’s, I’ve, that’s, Russia wouldn’t, Kyiv should’ve, Donald Trump, —, Joe Biden’s, General Jen Stoltenberg’s, Kira Rudik Organizations: Atlantic Council, Organization for Security, Cooperation, CNN, Odesa CNN, Washington, NATO, Bucharest NATO, Ukraine, Getty, Kyiv, Twitter, Trump, Golos Party Locations: Europe, Ukrainian, Odesa, Germany, Washington , DC, Ukraine, Washington, Bucharest, Georgia, Moscow, Brussels, Lviv, Russian, AFP, Kyiv, Russia, Ukraine’s