Ukraine invited NATO: Now is the right time

Ukraine admits that it cannot become a member of NATO while the war lasts, but issuing the summons would, as stated, show Russian President Vladimir Putin that one of his main goals, preventing Ukraine from becoming a member of NATO, cannot be achieved.

NATO has stated that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance and that it is on an "irreversible" path to membership, but has not yet issued an official invitation or set a timeline for accession.

NATO diplomats state that there is currently no consensus among the members of the Alliance regarding the official announcement of the invitation to Ukraine. Any such decision requires the consent of all 32 NATO members. Sybiha pointed out in his letter that now is the right time to issue the summons.

"We believe that the call should be made at this very moment. It would be an adequate response by the allies to the escalation of the war that Russia has caused, and the latest indicator of this is the involvement of tens of thousands of North Korean soldiers and the use of Ukraine as a testing ground for new weapons," he said in the letter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated today that he is ready to end the war with Russia in exchange for NATO membership, even if Russia does not immediately return the annexed territories.

In an interview with Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsey, Ukraine's President said NATO membership would have to be offered to unoccupied parts of the country to end the "hot phase of the war", while the NATO invitation itself recognizes Ukraine's internationally recognized borders.

At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that it is necessary to eliminate the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict in order to reach a solution.