Military expert: NATO membership could pose risk to Ukraine’s security

He shared this opinion on Espreso TV, stating:

"Let's be honest, we're not going to join NATO anytime soon - unless the situation changes dramatically in the next six months to a year. Ukraine is still not ready in terms of material and technical readiness, and we don’t yet meet the standards required for NATO membership. Countries like Finland and Sweden, for instance, were already ready for membership for decades; they just needed to formalize the decision legally."

Stupak emphasized that Ukraine should focus on self-reliance when it comes to defense. He pointed out that even NATO membership would not guarantee full protection from a Russian invasion.

"One more point about NATO membership - it's an interesting dilemma. In my view, joining NATO could actually pose a risk to our security. The problem is that it might make our society complacent, leading people to believe that once we're under NATO's umbrella, we are safe and that the Alliance will step in if there's an emergency. It’s a bit reminiscent of the Budapest Memorandum. In such a scenario, NATO countries might not commit to defending Ukraine if Russia were to invade again. We could end up waiting, hoping that NATO will protect us. So, in my personal opinion, Ukraine should rely on itself for defense."

• At the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Brussels, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel opposed Ukraine's membership in the coalition.