Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.K. and former Commander-in-Chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, stated on August 4 that Ukraine will "never" become a member of NATO, despite years of pursuing accession.
Speaking at a meeting of Ukrainian ambassadors in Kyiv, Zaluzhnyi argued that NATO's military standards are outdated and lag behind modern warfare realities. He suggested that Ukraine should instead pursue future European security alliances.
"I personally worked to ensure that we adopted NATO standards, and every year, I heard stories about how we were just about to join NATO. Unfortunately, we will never join it," Zaluzhnyi said. He elaborated that it is "impossible for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, given their current level of development, to join an organization that is guided by World War II doctrines." He estimated it would take the alliance "about 12 years" to adopt new standards to "at least reach half the level of the Russian Federation."
Instead of NATO membership, Zaluzhnyi proposed that Ukraine should focus on emerging regional security arrangements, stating, "Ukraine… will align itself with blocs and alliances that will likely form. Most likely, we will be talking about a European military security bloc."
Ukraine's Constitution identifies NATO membership as a strategic objective. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replaced Zaluzhnyi as Ukraine's top commander in 2024.
