President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky once again emphasized that Ukraine will not agree to a compromise entry into NATO that would cover only part of the country's territory.
This was reported by URA-Inform with reference to RBC-Ukraine.
Zelensky clearly stated Kyiv's position: “Ukraine will never agree to this. If this is an invitation, then only for all territories.” Thus, the president ruled out the possibility of any “limited” membership, in which individual regions of the country could remain outside NATO protection.
The main obstacle to Ukraine's immediate entry into NATO remains Article 5 of the Charter, which provides for the collective defense of the Alliance members. In the context of active military actions on the territory of Ukraine, member countries fear the risks of being drawn into a full-scale war with Russia.
“We understand that Article 5 cannot be in effect during a war on the entire territory of Ukraine, since this creates a threat of a direct military clash between NATO and Russia,” Zelensky explained.
However, the president expressed confidence that after the end of the conflict, Ukraine should become a full member of the Alliance. However, in this way, NATO was effectively given the following ultimatum: either Ukraine joins the North Atlantic Alliance with all its territories, or not at all.
Meanwhile, in one of the cities of Ukraine, schools are being closed and public events are being cancelled.
