Ukraine’s former military chief Zaluzhnyi: Ukraine will never join NATO

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's ambassador to Britain and former top military commander, says Ukraine will never join NATO—despite spending twelve years working to meet the alliance's standards. Meduza reports he cites the gap between Ukraine's military development and NATO's doctrine as the barrier. Rather than NATO, Zaluzhnyi suggests Ukraine pursue a new European military alliance, or possibly the Joint Expeditionary Force led by the UK, which offers cooperation without mutual-defense obligations. His assessment carries weight: Zaluzhnyi commanded Ukrainian forces from twenty twenty-one to twenty twenty-four with high public approval, and as of June, sixteen percent of Ukrainians said they'd vote for him in the next election.

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