NATO closes the 'door' to Ukraine

According to Ria Novosti, in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, head of NATO's nuclear policy directorate, Jessica Cox, said that NATO member states admit that Ukraine cannot yet join the alliance.

"The countries have expressed their support for Ukraine's resumption of relations with NATO during this transition period. However, they acknowledge that neither NATO nor Ukraine is yet at the right time for Ukraine to join the alliance," said Jessica Cox.

Cox said Kiev and Brussels still had “a lot of work” to do. However, many important steps in this process were outlined at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Latvia, in July this year, and are being taken. Cox also said that efforts are being “redoubled” to bring Ukraine closer to NATO.

Meanwhile, most recently, two NATO member countries, Hungary and Slovakia, refused to supply weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have been dealt a double blow, facing the challenge of a wave of opposition to military aid to Kiev from both the European Union and NATO," commented Newsweek.

On October 26, Politico quoted an anonymous diplomat as saying that the Prime Ministers of Hungary and Slovakia opposed a 50 billion Euro (52.8 billion USD) aid package for Ukraine at the European Union Summit.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has argued that support for Ukraine is not working, while Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has cited concerns about corruption in Ukraine.

Despite its small size, Slovakia has provided Ukraine with a significant amount of military aid, including ammunition, armored vehicles, artillery, and even fighter jets.

Hungarian Prime Minister Orban told Radio Kossuth that the EU's strategy towards Kiev "has failed", as Ukraine will not win on the battlefield. And Russian President Vladimir Putin "will not go away".

Meanwhile, new Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico campaigned on a pledge to end military support for Ukraine and criticized sanctions against Russia./.