In view of the war and the areas illegally annexed by Russia, Ukraine wants to join NATO as soon as possible. The application has been submitted, but accession in the near future is rather unrealistic. Nevertheless, the Kremlin is already building up its threatening backdrop.
According to Russia, Ukraine's admission to NATO could lead to a third world war. "Kyiv is aware that such a step means a certain escalation towards a third world war," Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Alexander Venediktov said in an interview with the Russian state news agency TASS.
Almost two weeks ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy applied for his country's accelerated accession to NATO. He was responding to Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territories, which Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law at the same time. Nine European NATO countries voted in favor of Ukraine joining the military alliance.
The Ukrainian NATO application currently has no chance of success because one of the conditions is that an applicant state must not have any active border conflicts. In addition, NATO wants to avoid a direct conflict with Russia, which is why the USA and Germany are also skeptical about Ukrainian accession.
Annalena Baerbock recently emphasized: "We continue to support Ukraine's right to self-defense, including with heavy weapons, but we do everything we can to ensure that other countries and NATO are not drawn into this war." Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary Venediktov reiterated Russia's view that the West is already directly involved in the conflict because of its aid to Ukraine.
