KYIV, — Ukraine’s former Commander-in-Chief and current Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, has said he sees no realistic prospect of Ukraine joining NATO, despite the country’s long-standing strategic goal of becoming a member of the military alliance.
Speaking at a meeting of Ukrainian ambassadors, Zaluzhnyi said Ukraine’s armed forces do not yet meet the military and technological standards required for NATO membership, according to comments reported by Evropeiska Pravda.
His remarks come as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues into its fifth year and NATO membership remains one of Kyiv’s central foreign policy objectives.
‘We Will Never Actually Join’
According to the report, Zaluzhnyi reflected on more than a decade of efforts to align Ukraine’s military with NATO requirements.
“For about 12 years, I personally worked on making sure we met NATO standards, and every year I heard promises that we would join NATO soon. Unfortunately, we will never actually join,” he was quoted as saying.
The ambassador argued that Ukraine still lacks several advanced military capabilities expected of NATO members.
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Capability Gaps Remain
Zaluzhnyi said NATO membership requires far more than political support, pointing to technological shortcomings in Ukraine’s defense infrastructure.
He highlighted areas including:
- Integrated missile defense systems
- Space-based military capabilities
- Advanced battlefield technologies
- Modern command-and-control systems
- Interoperability with NATO forces
According to Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine must continue modernizing its armed forces before it could realistically satisfy alliance requirements.
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NATO Membership Remains Constitutional Goal
Ukraine has formally written membership of both NATO and the European Union into its Constitution.
However, Ukrainian officials have repeatedly acknowledged that not all NATO member states currently support extending membership to Ukraine while the war with Russia continues.
Several alliance members have argued that admitting a country actively involved in a large-scale war could trigger NATO’s collective defense obligations.
Political Background
Zaluzhnyi served as Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief until his dismissal in 2025 following reported differences with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding the conduct of the war against Russia.
He now serves as Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Opinion polls in Ukraine continue to rank Zaluzhnyi among the country’s most trusted public figures.
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Russia Continues to Oppose NATO Expansion
Moscow has consistently rejected the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, describing the alliance’s eastward expansion as a direct threat to Russian national security.
Russian officials have repeatedly stated that preventing Ukraine’s accession to NATO remains one of Moscow’s core security objectives.
The issue continues to be one of the central geopolitical disputes between Russia and the West.
