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An offer of NATO membership to territory under Kiev’s control would end the “hot stage of the war” in Ukrainebut any proposal to join the military alliance should be extended to all parts of the country that fall under internationally recognized borders, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview.
Zelenskyy’s remarks on Friday signaled a possible way forward on the difficult path Ukraine faces to future NATO membership. At their summit in Washington in July, the 32 members declared Ukraine on an “irreversible” path to membership. However, one obstacle to progress has been the view that Ukraine’s borders would need to be clearly demarcated before it could join, so there is no mistaking where the mutual defense pact would come into force of the alliance
“You can’t give an invitation to only one part of a country,” the Ukrainian president said in an excerpt of the interview with Sky News, dubbed by the British broadcaster. “Why? Because then he would recognize that Ukraine is only this territory of Ukraine and the other is Russia.”
“Therefore, legally, by law, we have no right to recognize the occupied territory as the territory of Russia,” he said.
Since the start of the war in 2022, Russia has been expending large amounts of weapons and human lives to make small but steady territorial gains in the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine it already controls in the east and south Ukraine
“If we want to stop the hot stage of the war, we should take under the umbrella of NATO the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control. That’s what we have to do, fast. And then Ukraine can take back the ‘other part of their territory diplomatically,’ he said.
An invitation to Ukraine to join NATO is a key point of Zelenskyy’s “victory plan”, which he presented to Western allies and the Ukrainian people in October. The plan is seen as a way for Ukraine to strengthen its hand in any negotiations with Moscow.
Earlier this week, new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance “must go further” to support Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion. Military aid to Kiev and steps to end the war are expected to be high on the agenda when foreign ministers from NATO members gather in Brussels for a two- days from December 3.
However, any decision for Ukraine to join the military alliance would require a longer process and the agreement of all member states.
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There is also uncertainty about President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy stance. Although Trump promised on the campaign trail to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a single day, he has not publicly discussed how that might happen. Trump also announced Wednesday that Keith Kellogg, an 80-year-old and highly decorated retired three-star general, would be his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
In April, Kellog wrote that “closing the war between Russia and Ukraine will require strong leadership and America First to reach a peace agreement and immediately end hostilities between the two warring parties.”
Meanwhile, during his only campaign debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump twice refused to directly answer a question about whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war, suggesting that Kiev could be forced to accept unfavorable terms in any negotiations .
Zelenskyy’s statement comes as Ukraine faces increasing pressure along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. In its latest report, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said on Saturday that Russian forces had recently advanced near Kupiansk in Toretsk and near Pokrovsk and Velyka Novosilka, a key logistical route for the Ukrainian military.
Ukraine’s air force announced on Saturday that the country had been attacked by ten Russian drones, of which eight were shot down over the regions of Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson. One drone returned to Russian-occupied territory, while the last drone disappeared from radar, often a sign of the use of electronic defenses.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said 11 Ukrainian drones had been shot down by the country’s air defense systems. Both the mayor of Sochi, Andrey Proshunin, and the head of Russia’s Dagestan region, Sergey Melikov, both in southwestern Russia, said the drones had been destroyed in their regions overnight. No casualties were reported.
On Friday, Ukraine’s president announced a series of changes to the military leadership, saying changes in personnel management were needed to improve the situation on the battlefield.
General Mykhailo Drapatyi, who led the defense of Kharkiv during Russia’s renewed offensive in Ukraine’s second-largest city this year, was named the new head of Ukraine’s Ground Forces. Oleh Apostol was appointed as the new Deputy Commander-in-Chief responsible for improving military training.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi also announced on Friday that he would reinforce units in Donetsk, Pokrovsk and Kurakhove with additional reserves, ammunition, weapons and military equipment.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
