“Ukraine won’t join NATO” – President Zelensky admits

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has accepted that his country will not become a member of NATO.

According to a translation of his comments made via video link at a meeting of the leaders of the U.K. Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in London on Tuesday morning, March 15, Zelensky acknowledged that Ukraine’s accession to NATO would not happen.

“For years we’ve heard the opposite, open doors, However, it is not,” he said according to Ukrainian news outlet, Trukha.

“Our people understand this, and we are beginning to count on our own strength,” he added.

Media outlet Nexta quoted Zelensky as saying: “We realized that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO. We understand this, we are adequate people.”

Zelenskyy said, however, that security guarantees from NATO allies would be necessary to keep Ukraine safe amid Russia’s invasion of the eastern European country.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine destroyed everything that security in our region and I am sure international security was based on,” he said. “The weight of the organizations we all hoped for. The force of international conventions. It has also called into question the world’s most powerful alliance, NATO.”

Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s skies need to be protected the same way that NATO allies’ skies are, but understands there is always a “but” in these situations.