Zelensky: Ukraine knows NATO membership isn’t possible during wartime
Source: CBN
Ukraines’s president Volodymyr Zelensky bitterly admitted Ukraine cannot join NATO until the war with Russia is over. However, he doubled down on Kyiv stance that his country needs to be offered a formal invitation to join the Alliance as a crucial signal of support.
“We understand that the United States and other partners cannot bring Ukraine into NATO while we’re at war. Ukraine respects that and does not wish to drag other countries’ military forces into this conflict,” Zelensky said, in a sign of more pragmatic approach to the issue.
The invitation, he argued, would need to apply to all of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory, including areas currently under Russian occupation.
“If we truly want to end this war, Ukraine must receive a NATO [membership offer]. An invitation covers the entirety of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. However, NATO’s actions could initially focus on the areas under Ukraine’s control, with potential expansion as we reclaim territory,” Zelensky explained.
The president said Ukraine just wants clarity on the issue.
“An invitation to NATO is the first step. It’s not membership yet, but it’s a demonstration of goodwill. What’s critical is maintaining honest relations. This invitation would offer a transparent answer about Ukraine’s future in NATO. It also sends a clear message to Putin or any future aggressor: Ukraine will become a NATO member,” Zelensky concluded.
In my previous column, I wrote about social innovations in Ukraine. Those innovations are part of civic resilience and the democratization of security, which Europe is paying close attention to right now. The EU is trying to work out how to spread responsibility for its own security across society as a whole, rather than leaving it to institutions alone. It is looking for concrete ways to bring ordinary people into the work of defense and resistance.
Petro Poroshenko’s lawyers have appealed to the High Anti-Corruption Court demanding that NABU be obligated to register proceedings regarding the fact of exerting influence on the court and to recognize Petro Poroshenko as a victim in the case of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, due to her pressure on Supreme Court judges who were considering a lawsuit to overturn sanctions.
Internationally recognized brands and financial institutions should direct capital to Ukraine now, not waiting for the hostilities to end. This was emphasized by Rinat Akhmetov, president of FC Shakhtar, during a working visit to UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where he met with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.
In recent days, Moscow’s official rhetoric has been dominated by hysteria over the decision of…
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.