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Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valery Zaluzhnyi, said the country would never join NATO because its armed forces did not meet the military standards required for membership, European Pravda reported.
Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former top military commander, made the remarks during a discussion on Euro-Atlantic integration at a general meeting of Ukrainian ambassadors in Kyiv.
Although he was asked to comment on Ukraine’s possible participation in the Joint Expeditionary Force, or JEF, Zaluzhnyi began by addressing NATO membership, an objective included in Ukraine’s constitution.
“I know NATO really well,” Zaluzhnyi was quoted as saying. “For about 12 years, I personally worked on making sure we met NATO standards, and every year I heard tales about how we would join NATO any day now.”
“Unfortunately, we will never actually join,” he added.
Zaluzhnyi said Ukraine could not join NATO with the current level of development of its armed forces, describing the alliance as an organization guided by World War II-era doctrines.
He also gave a sharply negative assessment of NATO’s capabilities despite the membership of countries including the United Kingdom and the U.S.
Zaluzhnyi said NATO would probably remain in its current form and spend about 12 years transitioning to standards required to reach at least half of Russia’s military level.
Despite his criticism, he acknowledged that Ukraine needed technology already available in NATO countries, including anti-missile defense and space capabilities.
Zaluzhnyi said Ukraine could seek security guarantees through emerging alliances rather than NATO.
He suggested that Ukraine would likely become connected to new blocs and partnerships, including a possible European military security alliance.
Zaluzhnyi also described membership in the JEF as a potentially effective security mechanism and expressed regret that Ukraine was not working toward joining the coalition.
He said the JEF had established command structures since 2015, although they remained weak and had not yet reached the level Ukraine required.
The JEF currently does not include collective security mechanisms or mutual defense obligations for its members.
The coalition’s 10 members previously signed a memorandum of intent to establish a multinational maritime force intended to complement NATO.
Ukraine has already joined an enhanced partnership agreement with the JEF.
Zaluzhnyi was dismissed as Ukraine’s top military commander last year following differences with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the conduct of the war with Russia.
He later became Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.
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