Top Ukrainian official believes NATO members will support Ukraine’s accession
All 30 members of NATO broadly support Ukraine joining the military alliance in the future, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said in an interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel on Jan. 17.
"Putin has tipped his hand, and is raising the stakes; the time has come to consider how NATO can respond to these threats," Stefanishyna said, referring to Russian demands for "an end to NATO expansion" and threats of "military solutions" if those demands are not met.
Stefanishyna added that it’s important for Ukraine to see some meaningful steps on NATO’s part that would indicate that it may be admitted to the alliance within a decade.
“We understand (your) security concerns, but Russia will always be there, and the Kremlin’s violent tendencies will only intensify,” said the deputy PM.
“It’s not just about Ukraine: Our defeat will be Europe’s defeat as well.”
On Jan. 12, representatives of the 30 NATO member nations spent four hours discussing the threat of a further Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the Kremlin’s demands.
Afterwards, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would never compromise on its “open door” policy. Russia has demanded that Ukraine and Georgia never be allowed to join the defense alliance.
A Russian troop buildup on the Ukrainian border was first widely reported in early December 2021, with several media outlets speculating that Russia might invade Ukraine with a force of 175,000 troops in early 2022.
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