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Zaluzhny says Ukraine will never join NATO

04 August 2026 00:40 (UTC +04:00)

Ukrainian Ambassador to London Valeriy Zaluzhny dismissed talk of Ukraine joining NATO as a fairy tale, criticized the alliance, and stated that Kyiv will need a long time to reach Russia's level in the military-industrial complex. He made these statements at a general meeting of ambassadors in Kyiv, APA reports citing the publication European Pravda.

"I know NATO very well. For about 12 years, I personally worked on ensuring we mastered NATO standards, and every year I heard fairy tales about how we were about to join NATO. Unfortunately, we will never join!" Zaluzhny said, adding that "it is impossible, with the level of development of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, to join an organization that is guided by the doctrines of World War II."

At the same time, he criticized NATO's military potential. "NATO will likely remain in its current form, and it will take 12 years for Ukraine to reach the standards it needs to achieve to reach even half the level of the Russian Federation," the ambassador said.