Zaluzhnyi: Ukraine Will Never Become a NATO Member

Former commander-in-chief and now Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, has said that Ukraine will never join NATO, despite years of promises from the alliance. He made the remarks during a discussion on Euro-Atlantic integration, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

"I know NATO very well. For about twelve years I personally pushed for us to adopt the alliance's standards, and every year I heard fairy tales about imminent accession. Unfortunately, we will never join it!" Zaluzhnyi said.

According to him, given the current capabilities of Ukraine's armed forces, joining an organization still guided by World War II-era doctrines is simply not possible. At the same time, Zaluzhnyi acknowledged that Ukraine still depends on NATO member states' technology, particularly in missile defense, while sharply criticizing the alliance itself.

"NATO will most likely stay as it is and spend another twelve years trying to catch up to standards that would let it reach even half of Russia's level — something Ukraine has already achieved," the diplomat said.

In the former commander's view, Kyiv should seek security guarantees outside of NATO. In particular, Zaluzhnyi pointed to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) — a UK-led military bloc that also includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Unlike NATO, this group has no collective defense mechanisms or mutual protection obligations.

"Ukraine will join blocs and alliances that are likely to emerge in the future. Most probably, we're talking about a European military-security bloc… The JEF's command and control structures have existed since 2015. Yes, they're still weak. Yes, they're not yet at the level we need," Zaluzhnyi concluded.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz