KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Friday he expected Kyiv to receive a clear signal and “formula” for it to become a member of NATO when the military alliance holds a summit in Vilnius next month.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has pressed hard for Ukrainian membership of NATO but also said he recognises it would be impossible to join while Russia’s war in Ukraine is still raging.
“I expect them to give us a clear, understandable signal and formula for us, obviously, to become a NATO member,” Reznikov was quoted as saying by Ukraine’s military press centre.
The NATO summit is set to take place on July 11-12, with no end in sight to the war launched by Russia in Ukraine.
Kyiv’s allies are divided over how fast Kyiv should join and some Western governments are wary of any move that might take the alliance closer to war with Russia.
Ukrainian forces have started a counteroffensive in the southeast to try to recapture swathes of occupied land that Russia has heavily fortified.
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
