Zaluzhnyi on NATO: I am supporter of Alliance, but it must adapt to modern threats
Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom and former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi has clarified his previously stated position on Ukraine’s prospects of joining NATO.
He made the remarks at a diplomatic club event in Kyiv when asked to explain his comments about NATO at a meeting of ambassadors, Censor.NET reports, citing Interfax-Ukraine.
Commitment to reforms
Zaluzhnyi noted that in 2019, he was the chief advocate and architect of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s transition to NATO standards, for which he faced considerable criticism.
"Sitting before you is the person who, in 2019, with these hands and this mind, drafted the entire reform and amendments to nearly 37 legislative acts to transition Ukraine’s strategic-level command system to NATO principles and standards. I made so many enemies that you cannot even imagine. I support NATO," the ambassador said.
Outdated doctrines
However, according to him, "from a political perspective, many questions arise about NATO as an alliance that protected the old world."
"Scientific and technological progress is continuing. In 2026, Ukraine employed every type of weapon, except perhaps Tomahawks, nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers and F-35s, that NATO has in its arsenal, and applied the doctrines governing their use. Their potential has been exhausted. Russia has found countermeasures to all of them," the ambassador said.
Explaining his view, the general stressed that "NATO remains bound by doctrines dating back to the end of World War II, while we are technologically ahead."
Need for a new alliance
"Scientific and technological progress and the ongoing war have brought the Armed Forces of Ukraine to an entirely different level. NATO now has no choice but to adopt completely different standards in order to develop an entirely new doctrine. Only then will NATO be ready for Ukraine to join. I have already said that we need an entirely new defense alliance, most likely one with a territorial focus on Europe. An entirely new one," Zaluzhnyi said.
As an example, he again cited the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which he described as "a fairly promising organization from a political perspective."
Zaluzhnyi also said that he regularly attends NATO command-and-staff exercises held in the United Kingdom because they demonstrate the Alliance’s culture and philosophy of warfare. However, he stressed that NATO must change to meet today’s threats.
"Ukraine is fighting Russia without being in NATO. NATO should answer honestly: Is it prepared to fight Russia without Ukraine’s experience?" Zaluzhnyi concluded.
Background
- It was previously reported that Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Valerii Zaluzhnyi had said he did not believe Ukraine had any prospect of joining NATO.
- He believes that one obstacle to Ukraine joining the Alliance is that "the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at their current level of development, cannot join an organization whose doctrines date back to World War II."
- Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi commented on the remarks by Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who recently said he did not believe Ukraine had any prospect of joining NATO. Tykhyi said Zaluzhnyi’s remarks on Ukraine’s NATO prospects "were taken out of context and caused a stir, although the full quote primarily concerned the JEF, not NATO."
