Ukraine will 'never' join NATO, ex-commander Zaluzhnyi says

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a comment from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi.

Ukraine will never become a member of NATO despite years of pursuing accession, Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.K. and former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said on Aug. 3.

Speaking at a meeting of Ukrainian ambassadors in Kyiv, Zaluzhnyi argued that NATO's military standards have fallen behind the realities of modern warfare and suggested Ukraine should instead pursue future European security alliances.

"I personally worked to ensure that we adopted NATO standards, and every year, I heard stories about how we were just about to join NATO. Unfortunately, we will never join it," Zaluzhnyi said.

According to Zaluzhnyi, one of the main obstacles is that NATO's standards are outdated.

"It is impossible for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, given their current level of development, to join an organization that is guided by World War II doctrines," he said.

He added that it would take the alliance "about 12 years" to adopt new standards "to at least reach half the level of the Russian Federation."

Instead of NATO membership, Zaluzhnyi said Ukraine should focus on emerging regional security arrangements.

"Ukraine… will align itself with blocs and alliances that will likely form," he said. "Most likely, we will be talking about a European military security bloc."

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said Zaluzhnyi's remarks had been "taken out of context and caused a stir," noting that the ambassador's full answer referred primarily to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), not NATO.

Zaluzhnyi was responding to a question about Ukraine's participation in the JEF during a discussion on Euro-Atlantic integration at a general meeting of Ukrainian ambassadors, before broadening his comments to the Alliance more generally.

"To prevent any misinterpretation, I want to reiterate our long-standing official position: Ukraine's course toward joining the North Atlantic Alliance remains unchanged," Tykhyi said.

Ukraine's Constitution identifies NATO membership as a strategic objective.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously indicated that Kyiv could postpone joining the alliance if it receives security guarantees from the United States and European partners.

Zaluzhnyi served as commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces from 2021 until 2024 and left the post with high public approval ratings.

He is expected to run in Ukraine's next presidential election.

According to polling conducted in June 2026, 32% of Ukrainians supported Zelensky, while 16% said they would vote for Zaluzhnyi.