NATO will unveil a plan to help prepare Ukraine to assume the responsibilities of membership in the alliance during its annual summit in Washington, next week.
The deliverable is not a plan for membership outright, but will consist of “standing up an entire command” to ensure Ukraine can fully contribute to NATO in the event it does join, a senior Biden administration official told reporters on July 5.
“Allies will reaffirm that Ukraine’s future is in NATO [and] will make significant new announcements about how we’re increasing NATO’s military, political, and financial support for Ukraine,” the official said.
The effort is part of a larger “bridge to membership” which is designed to help Ukraine assume military responsibilities within NATO “on day one” of its membership.
Though Ukraine has sought membership in the defensive alliance for some time, it is unlikely to be approved anytime soon, as membership is contingent upon a unanimous vote of all member states and requires new member states to meet certain standards of governance and territorial integrity.
Preventing Ukraine from joining NATO has also been a key war aim of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Mr. Putin has said that the objectives of the conflict are to demilitarize Ukraine and compel its neutrality in international affairs.
The U.S. official, however, quoted President Joe Biden, who previously said that Ukraine’s membership in NATO was a question of when rather than if.