Ukraine’s potential Nato membership has been a centrepoint of the war with Russia.
Vladimir Putin is vehemently opposed to Ukraine joining the Western alliance, seeing it as a threat to Russia’s borders.
Ukraine is applying to become a Nato member, but it is yet to be formally admitted.
Though Ukraine has the support of all 30 Nato members over Russia’s invasion, there are roadblocks to it becoming a member itself.
Here is Ukraine’s situation with Nato explained.
While Ukraine is not a Nato member, it is one of the body’s “enhanced opportunity partners”.
This status is afforded to non-member nations that have “made significant contributions to Nato-led operations and missions”, such as Australia and Sweden.
In 1997, Nato established a Ukraine-Nato commission, which allowed for discussion on security issues and enabled the furthering of the Nato-Ukraine relationship without a formal membership agreement.
For a country to become part of Nato, it has to be unanimously approved by all current members.
Countries including France and Germany had previously been skeptical about Ukraine’s inclusion, though Russia’s invasion has changed the situation significantly.
However, factors taken into account when considering membership include “unresolved external territorial disputes”, meaning Ukraine is unlikely to be granted membership anytime soon.
Alastair Kocho-Williams, professor of history at Clarkson University in the US, says Nato membership would “significantly increase Ukraine’s international military backing, allowing for Nato military action within Ukraine and alongside members of its military”.
Nato says its membership is open to “any other European state in a position to further the principles” of its treaty and to “contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area”.
Countries who wish to join Nato must follow a membership action plan – an application process that involves outlining security and political policies.
The membership action plan helps “aspiring members prepare for membership and meet key requirements by providing practical advice and targeted assistance”.
But it can be a lengthy undertaking.
North Macedonia took 20 years to complete the plan before it joined Nato in 2020.
Russia strongly opposes Nato’s expansion to include Ukraine, and has demanded a formal veto on it ever becoming a member.
President Putin has made clear that he sees the country’s aspirations to join the group as a threat to Russia’s borders and its sphere of influence.
Five Nato countries currently border Russia after former Soviet states Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania became members.
In December last year, President Putin said Russia will seek “reliable and long-term security guarantees” from the US and its allies “that would exclude any further Nato moves eastward and the deployment of weapons systems that threaten us in close vicinity to Russian territory”.
And in February in an angry televised address from the Kremlin, President Putin said: “Ukraine is an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space. These are our comrades, those dearest to us – not only colleagues, friends and people who once served together, but also relatives, people bound by blood, by family ties.”
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