General Sergei Naev: The fighting power of the Ukrainian army is superior to that of the NATO army
Commander of the Combined Forces of Ukraine Sergei Naev said that the Ukrainian army today is not much different from the armies of NATO countries, and is even superior in combat experience.
"The Ukrainian army today is not much different from the armies of NATO countries, but in terms of combat experience it is ahead in a number of issues. But to join NATO, it is necessary to go through a certain path... I believe that the deadline for Ukraine to join NATO is not far from us," - Mr. Naev said in an interview with "Voice of Ukraine", published on Wednesday.
Ukraine's Verkhovnaya Rada introduced amendments to two laws in December 2014, rejecting the country's non-aligned status. In June 2016, additional changes were adopted to establish NATO membership as the country's foreign policy goal. Ukraine is reforming its military to meet NATO standards for joining the North Atlantic alliance.
Former NATO Secretary General Fogh Rasmussen previously stated that Ukraine would need to meet a number of criteria to join the alliance, which would take a long time. Experts believe that Kiev will not be eligible for NATO membership for the next 20 years.
