Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to full membership in NATO, the 32-signatories to the Western military alliance declared Wednesday.
NATO member countries issued joint statement from their summit in Washington, DC, setting out a series of steps aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s defenses, AP reports.
That includes the U.S., the Netherlands and Denmark revealing the first NATO-provided F-16s would be in the hands of Ukrainian military pilots by this summer.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted his appreciation of the effort to strengthen his air force, coming soon after Ukraine saw one of the deadliest strikes of the war, while disregarding policy experts who see Kyiv’s desire to join NATO as a direct threat to Moscow and cause for it to continue fighting now and into the future.
NATO also confirmed a long-term commitment of security assistance to Ukraine, and outlined the establishment of a new NATO center aimed at ensuring Kyiv gets a more reliable flow of arms and training from members of the alliance, the AP report makes clear.
But the commitments still fall short of the striking power Ukraine says it needs to defeat the invading Russian forces.
“Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” alliance members said in their statement. “We will continue to support it on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership.”
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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine’s membership is not a “question of if, but when.”
He underlined Ukraine will not join the alliance’s ranks immediately but he insisted that must happen after the war is over to ensure Russia never attacks Ukraine again.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has long bitterly opposed neighboring Ukraine’s fight to join the Western alliance, declaring it an encroachment on Russia’s security and interests.
Separately Wednesday, the U.S. and Germany announced they would begin “episodic deployments” of long-range missiles to Germany in 2026, including Tomahawk, SM-6 and hypersonic missiles.
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