Ukraine to seek NATO invitation in Brussels next week

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is urging NATO leaders to invitation Ukraine to articulation the Western subject confederation during a gathering successful Brussels adjacent week, according to a missive sent to confederation leaders—reflecting the country's frenzied propulsion to summation rank successful the confederation successful the last days of Biden's presidency. 

The letter, archetypal reviewed by Reuters, comes arsenic Ukraine has re-upped its petition for NATO rank to assistance enactment an extremity to Russia's war, including a caller uptick successful attacks connected its vigor infrastructure. It besides comes arsenic the Biden medication has granted Ukraine caller permissions to combat backmost against Russia successful their last months successful office. 

In the letter, Ukraine's overseas curate acknowledged his country's ongoing warfare with Russia prohibits Kyiv from joining NATO close now. But helium argued that an invitation for rank successful Brussels would beryllium a almighty amusement of force—and a large symbolic blow—to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has agelong opposed the thought of their rank successful NATO.

"We judge that the invitation should beryllium extended astatine this stage," Sybiha said successful the letter. "It volition go the Allies' capable effect to Russia's changeless escalation of the warfare it has unleashed, the latest objection of which is the engagement of tens of thousands of North Korean troops and the usage of Ukraine arsenic a investigating crushed for caller weapons," helium added.

Also connected Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy utilized an interrogation connected Sky News to up the nationalist unit for NATO leaders to widen his state a rank offer.

Speaking Friday to Sky News's Stuart Ramsay, the Ukrainian president suggested that NATO could widen rank to the territory of Ukraine inactive nether its power to assistance accelerate the NATO memberhsip process and upwind down Russia's warfare arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.

"If we privation to halt the blistery signifier of the war, we request to instrumentality nether the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we person nether our control," helium told Ramsay. NATO should "immediately" screen parts of the state that are nether Ukrainian authority, helium said, stressing that it it thing Ukraine needs "very overmuch different helium volition travel back," successful evident notation to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a televised code successful Moscow, Russia, June 26, 2023. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via Reuters (Reuters)

Ukraine would look galore hurdles successful attempting to articulation NATO, contempt assurances from the confederation that it is connected an "irreversible path" to membership.

That's due to the fact that Ukraine lacks 2 cardinal requirements for NATO membership: territorial integrity and the lack of ongoing conflict. Currently, Russia controls astir 20% of Ukrainian territory, Rebekah Koffler, a strategical subject quality expert and writer of "Putin's Playbook," told Fox News Digital successful an interrogation Friday. 

Any state hoping to summation rank "cannot person ongoing struggle due to the fact that of Article 5," Koffler said. 

For Russia,"it is simply a reddish enactment for Ukraine to beryllium portion of NATO," Koffler added, since Russian President Vladimir Putin considers Ukraine portion of Russia's strategical information perimeter.

NATO members are besides divided implicit the thought of accepting Ukraine. "Those who are against it are acrophobic astir Article 5 obligations: admitting Ukraine into NATO would automatically spot the United States and the full NATO confederation astatine warfare with Russia due to the fact that of the corporate defence clause," Koffler said.

The State Department said Friday that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken by telephone to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha to sermon battlefield updates and incoming U.S. information assistance successful aftermath of caller Russian attacks connected Ukraine's vigor infrastructure. On the call, officials said, Blinken "briefed the Foreign Minister connected U.S. goals for sustainable enactment for Ukraine, to beryllium discussed astatine upcoming diplomatic engagements with NATO and done the Ukraine Defense Contact Group."

The property merchandise stopped abbreviated of detailing immoderate further overtures to Ukraine.

Still, Ukraine's propulsion for rank comes arsenic Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his medication brace for the galore unknowns of a 2nd Trump presidency. Trump has agelong expressed skepticism of NATO, and suggested arsenic precocious arsenic this twelvemonth that helium could extremity the warfare betwixt Russian and Ukraine "in a day."  

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Republican statesmanlike nominee and erstwhile U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conscionable astatine Trump Tower successful New York City, U.S., September 27, 2024. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo)

While Ukraine's propulsion for NATO rank is not new, the timeline for leaders to o.k. their bid has taken connected caller urgency, arsenic the warfare nears its 3rd twelvemonth and arsenic President-elect Trump prepares to instrumentality bureau again.

NATO rank was included arsenic 1 of the first— and astir important—steps successful Zelenskyy's multi-part "victory plan" to assistance triumph the warfare against Russia.

The outline, which his medication published successful October, suggested that Ukraine could enactment an extremity to the warfare with Russia arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2025, if the country's requests are granted for much weapons and the continued quality to transportation retired subject operations connected Russian soil. 

Any state hoping to summation rank "cannot person ongoing struggle due to the fact that of Article 5," Koffler said. 

For Russia,"it is simply a reddish enactment for Ukraine to beryllium portion of NATO," Koffler added, since Russian President Vladimir Putin considers Ukraine portion of Russia's strategical information perimeter.

President Joe Biden, for his part, has used his last weeks successful office to authorize caller permissions for Ukraine successful the ongoing warfare with Ukraine.

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Earlier this month, the Biden medication granted Ukraine caller support to usage U.S.-supplied long-range weapons to onslaught targets wrong Russian teritory. Later, they besides signed disconnected connected the transportation of anti-personnel mines to bolster Ukrainian service defenses successful the east.