

Zelensky even threatened to boycott the meeting if sufficient progress was not made on an alliance commitment for how and when Ukraine will be admitted. Yet, Ukraine’s most recent demand that the alliance relax political and military standards for Ukraine to eventually enter, which NATO is granting, is beyond the pale. Zelensky has often visited NATO countries, demanding ever more weapons and economic assistance.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has become a global celebrity because he courageously remained in Ukraine when it was invaded, regularly visits dangerous areas close to the fighting, and adroitly manages war public relations. These demands have been paired with the arguments that Ukraine is standing not only for itself but for world democracies against autocracy and that it is fighting the West’s battle against a virulently belligerent Russia.Īt the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, this week, Ukraine has demanded that its “minimum” requirement would be that alliance standards would be relaxed for its ultimate acceptance into the alliance. Understandably, Ukraine has been assertive in demanding help from the West, both economically and militarily, for its survival as a nation.
