Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom and former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said he doubts Ukraine will ever join NATO. He made the comment during a discussion on Euro-Atlantic integration at a meeting of ambassadors in Kyiv, the Ukrainian outlet European Pravda reported.
“I know NATO really well. For about 12 years I personally worked on making sure we met NATO standards, and every year I heard tales about how we would join NATO any day now. Unfortunately, we will never actually join,” Zaluzhnyi said.
“[It’s] impossible with the level of development that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have, to join an organization guided by the doctrines of World War II,” Zaluzhnyi said.
Zaluzhnyi acknowledged that “Ukraine needs technologies that NATO countries currently possess.” Still, he said Ukraine is likely to join alliances that have yet to be formed. “Most likely, we’re talking about a European military-political security bloc,” he said.
Zaluzhnyi also said he regrets that Ukraine is not working toward joining the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), a military coalition led by the United Kingdom. Unlike NATO, JEF does not require its members to defend one another, European Pravda noted.
Zaluzhnyi commanded the Ukrainian Armed Forces from 2021 to 2024. He left the post with high public approval ratings and, according to media reports, planned to run in Ukraine’s next presidential election. As of June 2026, 16% of Ukrainians said they would be willing to vote for Zaluzhnyi, compared with 32% for incumbent President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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