Ukraine unlikely to become NATO member before war ends – Venislavskyi

"The international expert military environment assesses our Armed Forces very highly, and only a military-political issue remains. We must be realistic. I think that a decision [on Ukraine's NATO membership] is unlikely to be made before the end of the war, although we want [Ukraine to join NATO earlier], and such options are being considered. We hope for it, but reality hardly allows us to be so optimistic. At the same time, neither we nor anyone in the world, even the same Russians, doubt that Ukraine will join NATO in the future," Venislavskyi said during the United News telethon.

He added that more specific bilateral or multilateral decisions on Ukraine's closer integration into NATO structures may be adopted during the NATO summit in Vilnius in July.

According to Venislavskyi, Ukraine is already working with NATO member states at various levels, including those countries that are skeptical about our country's future membership in the alliance. He emphasized that when Ukraine is able to raise a specific question about joining NATO, this decision will be made very quickly.

He also noted that Ukraine already has a number of agreements with various countries regarding security guarantees in the future. Venislavskyi believes that these guarantees will not stand in the way of Ukraine joining the alliance.

As reported, the NATO summit will be held in Vilnius on July 11-12.