It has been over 500 days since the conflict erupted in Ukraine after the invasion of Russian forces. NATO countries provided all forms of financial and military assistance but have cautions over allowing Ukraine to join the alliance.
NATO and Ukraine clashed publicly for the first time this week. All 31 NATO members, including the United States, were present at the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, but the friction between Ukraine and military alliance was clearly visible. Ukrainian leader Volodomyr Zelenskyy came with high hopes but was disappointed over the response recieved, saying the absence of timeline for his country to join the alliance was ‘absurd’.
Ahead of the meeting, US President Biden said Ukraine was not ready yet to join the alliance. The US isn’t supportive of immediate membership. It is evident that US will not let a warring country into NATO and give a firm commitment. Instead, it is demanding Ukraine shows gratitude for fighting the full-scale invasion, saying the aid was not charity. At the end, the Ukrainian president was pictured standing alone and frustrated at the NATO summit.
NATO countries did not commit to a date when Ukraine can join the group but said they extend an invitation when “allies agree and conditions are met”. The bottom line is Ukraine will not become a NATO member as long as the war drags on. Ukraine has long aimed to become a part of NATO. In fact, US President Bush had first mentioned Ukraine joining the group. It can be argued that seeds of current conflict were sowed back then as Russia wouldn’t dare have a NATO member next door.
Under Article 5 of NATO’s charter, if one member is attacked, the others must come to its defence. Were Ukraine to join during the current conflict with Russia, all NATO member countries will have to declare war on Russia. The US and European countries realize the repercussions that this may develop into a much greater conflict.
Ukraine will have to fights its own war while NATO members will be providing defence equipment, training and intelligence sharing, as well as ways to counter Russia aggression. It remains wary that further involvement could provoke a direct, and more serious, conflict between Russia and the West.
