Ukraine May Never Join NATO, Says Former Commander Zaluzhnyi

Ukraine's former military chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi has ignited a debate about his country's strategic future by stating that Ukraine will realistically never become a NATO member. Zaluzhnyi, who now serves as Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom, made the remarks in a widely discussed recent statement.

What Zaluzhnyi Said

According to Zaluzhnyi, the obstacle to NATO membership lies in an incompatibility between Ukraine's current military development and the alliance's doctrines, which he believes are rooted in Second World War-era thinking. He argued that Ukraine cannot join an organization guided by outdated principles and called instead for greater focus on alternative security cooperation formats.

Ukrainian analyst Pavlo Lakijtschuk of the Center for Global Studies Strategy XXI described the statement as a cold shower that is nonetheless useful for Ukrainians. He told Deutsche Welle that NATO has been in an identity crisis since the Soviet collapse in the early 1990s. After losing its main adversary, the alliance drifted toward peacekeeping missions and fighting piracy, weakening European defense capability in the process.

NATO's Fear of War

Lakijtschuk identified a deeper psychological problem: NATO today fears war. When the enemy senses that fear, deterrence gives way to blackmail — and that is precisely what Russia is exploiting. He stressed that Ukraine, through years of intense combat experience, has in many respects surpassed NATO standards in actual warfare capability.

Debate in Ukraine

The statement triggered significant discussion in Ukraine about the country's euro-Atlantic future. While official Ukrainian policy maintains EU and NATO membership as strategic goals, Zaluzhnyi's remarks suggest growing realism about practical barriers. Alternative formats could include bilateral security guarantees, enhanced partnerships, or new regional frameworks.