Ukraine will never become a NATO member, despite years of efforts to join, said former army chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, currently the ambassador to the UK.
Zaluzhnyi argued, on Monday, during a meeting of Ukrainian ambassadors in Kyiv, that NATO’s military standards have lagged behind the realities of modern warfare and suggested that Ukraine should instead pursue future European security alliances, as reported by The Kyiv Independent.
"Personally, I worked to ensure that we adopt NATO standards, and every year we heard stories about how we were about to join NATO. Unfortunately, we will never join," Zaluzhnyi said.
"Ukraine... will align with the blocs and alliances that will likely form. Most likely, it will be a European military security bloc," he said.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Heorhii Tiahii, stated that Zaluzhnyi's remarks were "taken out of context and caused a stir," clarifying that the ambassador's full response primarily referred to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), not NATO.
Zaluzhnyi responded to a question regarding Ukraine's participation in the JEF during a discussion on Euro-Atlantic integration at a meeting of Ukrainian ambassadors, before expanding his references to the Alliance more broadly.
"To avoid any misunderstanding, I would like to reiterate our long-standing official position: Ukraine's path towards NATO membership remains unchanged," Tiahii said.
According to Zaluzhnyi, one of the main obstacles is that NATO standards are outdated.
"It is impossible for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, given their current level of development, to join an organization guided by doctrines from World War II," he stated.
He added that it would take the Alliance "approximately 12 years" to adopt new standards, "to reach at least half the level of the Russian Federation."
Zaluzhnyi also mentioned that instead of pursuing NATO membership, Ukraine should focus on new regional security mechanisms.
The Ukrainian Constitution stipulates NATO membership as a strategic objective, the cited publication mentions.
President Volodymyr Zelensky previously indicated that Ukraine could postpone NATO membership if it receives security guarantees from the United States and European partners.
Zaluzhnyi served as the chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from 2021 to 2024 and left the position with a high popularity rating in the country.
It is anticipated that he will run in the upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine.
According to polls conducted in June, 32% of Ukrainians supported Zelensky, while 16% stated they would vote for Zaluzhnyi.
T.D.