Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking at a meeting with the leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force, said that Ukraine has heard that it will not join NATO member states, the Ukrainian people are beginning to understand this and count on themselves.
"It is clear that Ukraine is not a member of NATO. We understand that. We are adequate people. For years we have heard about supposedly open doors, but we have already heard that we will not enter there. And this is true, and we need to recognize it. I am glad that our people are beginning to understand this and count on themselves and on our partners who help us," the president said.
He also added that Ukraine currently does not claim to activate Article 5 of the NATO treaty.
According to the head of state, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has destroyed absolutely everything on which the security in the region was based.
"I'm sure that international security as well. The weight of the organization that we all hoped for, the strength of international conventions have been called into question. And the most powerful alliance in the world, NATO, an alliance that seems (itself) or some of its members are hypnotized by Russian aggression. We hear a lot of opinions now on the subject of World War III. That it could start if NATO closes the sky over Ukraine to Russian missiles and planes," Zelensky said, adding that bombing and destruction of peaceful Ukrainian cities because of the unclosed skies is already happening now.
Addressing his interlocutors, the president also recalled Russia's missile strike on the Yavoriv test site in the Lviv region, 20 kilometers from NATO's borders.
"We always say that our skies need to be protected in the same way as the skies of the Alliance. But we always understand that there is a 'but'. But: what will be NATO's response to Alliance members if they are already asking for protection in case Russian missiles and, God forbid, Russian planes come to them as well? ", he asked.
The president stressed that for Article 5 of the NATO treaty to work in practice, there must be confidence that the Alliance would not be afraid to respond and "there would not be this hypnosis from NATO about World War III."
"Right now that certainty cannot exist. We have offered a way for Ukraine to protect its skies and people on its own. I would like everyone to hear this, and especially think about self-defense for those countries that share a border with Russia. And we are doing everything we can to get air defense and aircraft. I remind you, we need new formats of interaction, determination. And, if we can't go in through open doors, we have to cooperate with communities that we can and that will help us. We would like to have reliable guarantees," Zelensky summarized.
Article 5, "Collective Defense," of the NATO treaty means that an attack on one NATO member would be considered an attack on all NATO members.
