Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, has clarified his recent statement that Ukraine will "never join" NATO, saying he supports the alliance but believes it needs to change.
Zaluzhnyi recalled that in 2019 he was the main proponent of transitioning the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to NATO standards and personally developed that reform. "I made so many enemies that you cannot even imagine. I am for NATO," he stressed.
According to Zaluzhnyi, the alliance "is stuck in the doctrine of the end of World War II," while the AFU now outpaces it technologically. He noted that in 2026 Ukraine used all types of weapons except Tomahawk missiles, nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers, and F-35 fighter jets, and that this resource is exhausted.
"Russia has found countermeasures to all of this. The ongoing war has brought the Armed Forces of Ukraine to a completely different level. Now NATO has no choice but to move to completely different standards to reach a completely new doctrine. Only then will NATO be ready for Ukraine's accession," Zaluzhnyi said.
He repeated the idea of the need for "a completely new military bloc, most likely with a territorial anchor in Europe." As an example, Zaluzhnyi cited the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which includes military forces from the UK, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway.