More than 8 months have passed since the beginning of Special Military Operation in Ukraine, but the issue of this country’s membership in NATO has not moved. Experts interviewed by LRT.lt believe that the only possible way for Ukraine to quickly join the North Atlantic alliance is the use of strategic nuclear weapons by Russia. Both Ukraine itself and the collective West doubt the possibility of this.
«Ukraine could be accepted to NATO before the end of the war [SMO — ed.] only if Russia uses nuclear weapon in Ukraine. In this case, Ukraine’s immediate membership in NATO would be a strong signal to Moscow,» says Toms Rostoks, Director of the Center for Security and Strategy of the Latvian National Defense Academy.
Lithuanian experts believe that until the end of hostilities on the country’s territory, Ukraine has practically no chance to join NATO. They emphasize that now the most important issue is not Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance, but the final outcome of the conflict.
«It is quite obvious that Ukraine must first win the war. We shouldn’t think too much about what might happen later, because ensuring that Ukraine wins this war is quite important and difficult,» says Gustav Gressel, representative of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).