Three years of reporting, funded by our readers — become a member now and help us prepare for 2025.
Goal: 1,000 new members for our birthday. Gift a membership to your friend and help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Become a member Gift membership
Skip to content
Edit post

Kuleba pens op-ed on why NATO must admit Ukraine

by The Kyiv Independent news desk April 25, 2023 11:54 PM 2 min read
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Iraqi counterpart attend a joint press conference in Baghdad on April 17, 2023. (Photo by Ahmad Al- Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Finland's NATO accession showed that fears Ukraine joining the military alliance would "provoke" Russia were unwarranted, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote in an op-ed for Foreign Affairs published on April 25.

Finland, which also borders Russia, submitted its application in May 2022 to join NATO after years of military neutrality. Rather than responding with military action when Finland became a member of NATO, Russia simply attempted to downplay the move.

According to Kuleba, "Russian aggression against Ukraine has reinvigorated the alliance and given it a new raison d’être."

However, fears of provoking Russia have "clouded the alliance’s judgment, leading it to adopt an overly cautious strategy that has had grave consequences for thousands of Ukrainians who have been kidnapped, raped, tortured, displaced, or killed," according to Kuleba.

Kuleba also reiterated a point that he made in mid-April about how NATO's Membership Action Plan (MAP) is no longer a necessary step for Ukraine's path to joining the military alliance and would only delay its membership.

This is why Ukraine is looking for a "concrete timetable for Ukraine’s accession to NATO," Kuleba wrote.

"Today, millions of Ukrainians are honing their skills in Europe’s bloodiest war of the twenty-first century. Tomorrow, they will use those skills to bolster NATO’s collective security," according to Kuleba.

During a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Kyiv on April 21, President Volodymyr Zelensky also said that Ukraine needed "something more than the format of our relations which exist today" and that the country needed a clearer indication of when it was joining NATO.

At the meeting, the NATO chief reaffirmed his personal support for Ukraine's future NATO membership.

"I will speak clearly," Stoltenberg said at the briefing, "Ukraine's rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family, Ukraine's rightful place is in NATO."

Stoltenberg says ‘Ukraine will join NATO,’ vows support despite Russia’s ‘reckless nuclear rhetoric’
Brussels – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg vowed on April 3 that the alliance would continue supporting Ukraine despite Russia’s “dangerous and reckless nuclear rhetoric.” He added that Kyiv can win the war and become a full-fledged NATO member one day. Responding to the Kyiv Independent a…
Three years of reporting, funded by our readers.
Millions read the Kyiv Independent, but only one in 10,000 readers makes a financial contribution. Thanks to our community we've been able to keep our reporting free and accessible to everyone. For our third birthday, we're looking for 1,000 new members to help fund our mission and to help us prepare for what 2025 might bring.
Three years. Millions of readers. All thanks to 12,000 supporters.
It’s thanks to readers like you that we can celebrate another birthday this November. We’re looking for another 1,000 members to help fund our mission, keep our journalism accessible for all, and prepare for whatever 2025 might bring. Consider gifting a membership today or help us spread the word.
Help us get 1,000 new members!
Become a member Gift membership
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

8:00 AM

Trump has consulted Hungary's Orban on Ukraine war, sources tell RFE/RL.

Hungarian government sources said that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump sought Viktor Orban’s opinion on strategies to end the Ukraine war. Orban, known for his close ties with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump, has openly criticized EU aid for Ukraine and obstructed sanctions against Moscow.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.