Defense Minister of Ukraine: “We are de facto members of the NATO alliance”
Ukraine has become a de facto member of the NATO military alliance. This is what Ukraine’s defense minister claims in an interview with the BBC Oleksii Reznikov, which explains that Western countries, which once feared that military aid from Russia could be seen as an escalation, have changed their approach to supporting Kyiv. Ukraine will receive long-sought weapons, including tanks and fighter jets, as both Ukraine and Russia appear to be preparing for fresh offensives in the spring. “Ukraine as a country and the armed forces of Ukraine – he said – have become members of NATO. De facto, not de jure. Because we have guns and the ability to use them.”
The Russian President Wladimir Putin He framed his invasion of Ukraine as an existential struggle against Western countries that want to weaken Russia. Russian officials have said they are fighting NATO in Ukraine because the West has been supplying the country with what they see as a war of aggression. Ukraine has been attempting to join NATO for years, an attempt President Putin has described as a security threat to Russia.
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pushed for accelerated membership, but it’s unclear whether Alliance members will seriously consider full membership even after the war ends, despite promised support.
Reznikov denied that his remarks could be seen as controversial not only by Russia but perhaps by NATO itself as the US-led alliance, while supporting Ukraine, has taken steps to avoid being seen as a party to the conflict.