NATO taunts Ukrainian soldiers while allies hide real reasons why Ukraine is not invited to join

NATO heads of state and government are sitting together in the safety of Vilnius, and from there they send a signal to all Ukrainian soldiers in the trenches that they are unfortunately not yet modern enough for NATO, Paul Ronzheimer, BILD’s Deputy Chief Editor, writes in his commentary. 

Justifying its decision for not wanting to give Ukraine a timetable, NATO says that the conditions "the modernization of Ukraine's armed forces." 

Hearing this, Ukrainian soldiers feel mocked and little understood, Ronzheimer points out and reminds some facts about the Ukrainian army. 

“We have been reporting from Ukraine almost continuously since the war began and have witnessed a state-of-the-art army defending Kyiv, retaking the region around Kherson and Kharkiv, and fighting every day on the front lines for Ukraine's freedom.

Almost no one would have believed this army capable of this resistance against Russia; many politicians who now co-wrote the NATO paper gave Ukraine only a few days to survive at that time.”

In truth, the NATO countries are concealing the real reason why they do not want to invite Ukraine, the news editor claims.

“In the U.S. in particular, but also in Germany and other states, there are concerns that if a concrete commitment is made, there could be further escalation with Vladimir Putin. No one is elaborating exactly what this escalation will look like, but in the end the question is whether and how the war can be ended.”

It is no coincidence that Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced just recently that he wants to talk to Vladimir Putin on the phone again. Also, because the Ukrainian counteroffensive has so far not gone as some had hoped, there is constant talk behind closed doors that the time might come for negotiations.

Biden and Scholz should be open about the reasons.

“When that time will come, how many years it will take, seems completely open, but what is clear is that the belief that Ukraine can take back all of its territory is no longer present everywhere in NATO, at least at this point in time.”

U.S. President Joe Biden, as well as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, would have an obligation to be upfront about the reasons why they do not want a NATO roadmap for Ukraine. 

Ukraine deserves the truth, and especially the soldiers who are in the trenches on the front lines.

We should care about that: Because THEY are the ones who are making Russia's army weaker and weaker - and therefore less dangerous for us, the author concludes.