President Zelensky says Ukraine must defeat Russia to join NATO
(Baonghean.vn) - President Zelensky said that some allies are skeptical about accepting Ukraine in the context of armed conflict.
According to RT, President Vladimir Zelensky said that Ukraine needs to defeat Russia on the battlefield to join NATO. The US-led alliance has made it clear that Kiev cannot become a member while fighting is still ongoing.
“I believe that we will be in NATO only if we win. I don’t think we will be admitted to NATO during the war,” Zelensky said during a meeting with military officers in Kiev on April 30.
He explained that joining would require unanimous approval from the alliance’s 32 members. Some of them, Mr Zelensky argued, were reluctant to accept Ukraine’s entry amid an armed conflict because “they sense the risks, while others are simply skeptical”.
“So for Ukraine to be accepted into the union, we need to win,” he declared, adding that membership would guarantee Ukraine's independence.
Ukraine formally applied to join the transatlantic defense bloc in September 2022. While NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and individual members agree that Ukraine will one day become part of NATO, Kiev has not been given a specific timetable. It is widely understood that the country will not join NATO until its conflict with Russia is resolved.
Mr Stoltenberg, who visited Kiev on April 29, told Reuters that delays in arms deliveries had “damaged trust” between Ukraine and its foreign backers.
While the EU is struggling to find enough weapons and ammunition to meet Ukraine's wartime needs, the latest aid package from the US has been stuck in Congress for months due to political disagreement.
The delays have raised concerns in Kiev, with Mr Zelensky warning that Ukraine will lose if the ammunition shortage is not addressed. Ukrainian officials have blamed the delayed shipments for the failed counteroffensive last year, as well as the recent loss of several eastern cities to Russian forces.
For its part, Russia believes that NATO's eastward expansion and its military cooperation with Ukraine are among the underlying causes of the conflict. Moscow views NATO as a threat to its national security and insists that Ukraine should become a neutral country.