In addition to the fact that Germany and the US have reservations about extending an invitation to Ukraine, Belgium, Slovenia, and Spain are hiding behind these two countries, reluctant to respond to President Zelenskyy’s requests. Many NATO countries support Ukraine’s invitation in the abstract, but as soon as the matter gets closer to implementation, they begin to oppose the idea more publicly, Politico has noted. Two more countries – Hungary and Slovakia – do not support Ukraine’s NATO membership, owing to their well-known pro-Kremlin sentiments.
Kyiv applied for membership in September 2022, and in July 2024 the Alliance confirmed Ukraine’s “irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership,” although Ukraine has not received a final decision on its future accession.
In mid-October, Zelenskyy released his five-point Victory Plan, which prioritizes Kyiv’s invitation to NATO. However, US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said the Alliance has no such plans.