Ukrainian army servicemen at the opening of international military exercises under the auspices of NATO. Archive photoMOSCOW, 25 Jun. Ukraine will not take steps to join NATO, as members of the alliance rejected its aspirations, Igor Zhovkva, deputy head of the country's presidential office, said in an interview with the Financial Times. The official admitted that Kyiv's accession to the military bloc is impossible in the short term, but expressed the hope that NATO reaffirm the partnership. Zhovkva also urged NATO at the upcoming summit in Madrid to recognize Ukraine's central role in European security. At a meeting of alliance members, it is planned to determine the direction of the strategic development of the organization, and a representative of Zelensky's office demanded that the alliance remove any mention of Russia as a partner in the military alliance and give Moscow «strict and severe» warnings. «Do not hesitate — this is my call to NATO members when formulating provisions in against Russia,» the official added. 2009, she made changes to two laws, refusing the non-bloc status of the state. In February 2019, the Ukrainian parliament adopted amendments to the constitution, securing the country's course towards the EU and NATO. Ukraine has become the sixth state to receive NATO Enhanced Opportunities Partner status. At the same time, the United States stated that the possibility of Ukraine's entry into NATO is not yet considered, and in Berlin they noted that this issue is not on the agenda. Russia has repeatedly noted that NATO is aimed at confrontation. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that further expansion of the alliance would not bring greater security to Europe, NATO has an aggressive character. a big problem in the Donbass because of Western weapons
