Kyiv on Friday formally requested an “accelerated accession” to join NATO, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced, as a response to Moscow formally annexing four regions of Ukraine.
“We trust each other, we help each other and we protect each other. This is what the Alliance is. De facto. Today, Ukraine is applying to make it de jure,” Zelenskyy said during a video address.
Joining the alliance requires the unanimous approval of all 30 member countries.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Moscow requested binding guarantees from Kyiv not to join the U.S.-led security alliance, and used this as a pretext for launching the invasion.
Zelenskyy’s announcement comes just after a speech from Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he vowed to use all the powers at his disposal to defend four Ukrainian territories after annexation referendums. The referendums were condemned by European countries as a pretext to further “violate” Ukraine’s sovereignty.
During his address, Putin called upon Kyiv to cease military action and said Moscow was open to negotiations, although Ukraine has long insisted that it will not stop fighting until Russian forces entirely quit the country.
Zelenskyy responded in his own address that, although Ukraine was open to negotiations, it was “impossible” to do so with Putin, and would have to be with another Russian president.
