Ukraine must first win war against Russia to join NATO, White House says

In order to join NATO, Ukraine must win the war with Russia, and the United States is doing everything it can to make sure that the Ukrainians can do it, said the White House National Security Council strategic communications  coordinator, John Kirby.

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"Both the Alliance and the USA stated that first they got to win this war," he said.

Kirby noted that after the end of the hostilities, Ukraine is "still going to have a long border with Russia and a legitimate security threat to the Ukrainian people."

American President Joe Biden firmly "believes that NATO is in the future of Ukraine."

"There's a lot of things that have to be done before they can join the Alliance – like any member has to do before they can join the Alliance," he stressed, noting that a bilateral security agreement will help Ukraine protect itself while they work to secure "the necessary things".

"They can apply for NATO membership but we do believe that NATO is in Ukraine's future and we're going to work with them every step of the way to get them there," he concluded.

On April 29, 2024, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Kyiv, where he stated that Ukraine's rightful place is in the Alliance, therefore, all relevant measures are currently underway to accelerate the country's acquisition of membership in the bloc.

On May 27, he promised that a permanent structure would be created at the NATO summit to organize arms supplies to Ukraine and their financing.