NATO affirms Ukraine’s path to membership at summit

NATO countries agreed Wednesday to affirm Ukraine’s “irreversible path” to membership in a final declaration from their summit, according to multiple diplomats.

The declaration, which still awaits formal approval, supports Ukraine’s full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership, diplomats said. It reiterates that Ukraine will receive a formal invitation to join the alliance “when allies agree and conditions are met.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been a vocal advocate for NATO membership, emphasizing the alliance’s principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all. However, the United States and Germany have opposed immediate membership, citing concerns that it would bring the entire alliance into conflict with nuclear-armed Russia, which currently occupies parts of Ukraine.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, whose country joined NATO alongside Sweden following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, expressed satisfaction with the summit’s outcome.

“I think it’s very important to give a message to the Kremlin from here that Ukraine’s path and bridge toward NATO membership is now irreversible,” Stubb said. He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who aimed to halt NATO’s expansion, will witness the opposite effect.

“Putin wanted to stop NATO expansion but instead ‘Ukraine will become a NATO member’ and ‘Finland and Sweden became NATO members as well,'” Stubb added.

The summit’s declaration underscores NATO’s commitment to supporting Ukraine amid ongoing tensions with Russia, reinforcing the alliance’s stance on Euro-Atlantic security.