Zaluzhny stated that he does not believe Ukraine will join NATO
Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, stated that he currently sees no prospect of Ukraine’s NATO membership. According to him, he does not believe the country will be able to join the Alliance.
Zaluzhny noted that Ukraine needs to focus on strengthening its own defense capabilities and finding effective security solutions under the current circumstances.
Criticism of the Alliance
“I know NATO very well. For about 12 years, I personally worked to ensure that we adopted NATO standards and listened every year to stories about how we were about to join NATO any day now. Unfortunately, we will never join it!” Zaluzhny stated.
He believes that the obstacle to Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance is that “it is impossible to join, given the current level of development of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, an organization that adheres to World War II-era doctrines.”
Zaluzhny also offered a critical assessment of NATO’s current capabilities, despite the membership of the United Kingdom and the United States.
"Most likely, NATO will remain in its current form, and it will take Ukraine about 12 years to transition to the standards necessary to at least reach half the level of the Russian Federation," the ambassador said.
At the same time, Zaluzhny acknowledged that “Ukraine needs technologies that are currently still available in NATO countries,” including those related to anti-ballistic defense, space capabilities, and so on.
Alternative Alliances
Regarding security guarantees for Ukraine, Zaluzhny believes that other alliances—not NATO—are the most effective. He noted that “most likely, we will be talking about a European military security bloc.” Zaluzhnyy also considers Ukraine’s membership in the JEF coalition to be an effective mechanism for security guarantees.
He made these remarks during a discussion on Euro-Atlantic integration at a meeting of ambassadors in Kyiv, according to a report citing “EP.”
Zaluzhny commented for the first time on the appointment of the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
As a reminder, Zelenskyy confirmed Umerov’s appointment as head of the Foreign Intelligence Service.
On August 3, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree appointing former Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko as Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. Klymenko took the helm of the NSDC after serving as head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
