Ukraine’s NATO Aspirations Must Remain Strong Despite Ongoing Obstacles, Senior Ukrainian Official Says

Ukraine should maintain its goal of full membership in the North Atlantic Alliance, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, Senior Member of Ukraine’s Parliamentary Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union, stated on February 13.

These statements were made after US President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that Ukraine’s NATO membership was “off the agenda.”

“We are not removing Ukraine’s membership in NATO from the agenda… This is a perspective – it is the core of changes that must be preserved. This also means bringing the Armed Forces of Ukraine closer to NATO membership and standards,” Nalyvaichenko stated in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine.

“We need to convince and simply not turn off this path and confidently step forward,” he said.

Nalyvaichenko also described the Armed Forces of Ukraine as the engine, the locomotive that will definitely lead Ukraine to NATO.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that if Ukraine is not admitted to NATO, it will need US support to build a military force comparable to Russia’s as a “Plan B.” “… If Ukraine is not in NATO, it means that Ukraine will build NATO on its territory. So we need an army as numerous as the Russians have today,” Said Zelenskyy on February 12.