The announcement comes as the nation reflects on the 30th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum, which it now views as a cautionary tale.
Signed in 1994, the Budapest Memorandum saw Ukraine relinquish its nuclear arsenal in exchange for promises of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Decades later, Kyiv’s Foreign Ministry criticized the agreement as “short-sighted” and insufficient to deter Russian aggression.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said: “With the bitter experience of the Budapest Memorandum behind us, we will not accept any alternatives, surrogates or substitutes for Ukraine’s full membership in NATO.”
It added that NATO membership would not only bolster Ukraine’s security but also serve as a deterrent to future Kremlin ambitions.
Kyiv also linked its NATO aspirations to the broader cause of global nuclear non-proliferation, saying: “Inviting Ukraine to join NATO now will stop the erosion of key principles of nuclear disarmament and restore confidence in these processes.”
Ahead of a two-day NATO foreign ministers' meeting on Ukraine starting on Tuesday in Brussels, Secretary General Mark Rutte left Ukraine's potential timeline for joining the alliance unclear.
Rutte said: “Allies have agreed that the future of Ukraine is in NATO. During the Washington summit, we agreed on the irreversible path towards NATO.
“I’d think that we have to concentrate, and we will concentrate for the next two days very much, on what is necessary now. And what is necessary now to make sure that military aid will go to Ukraine,” he added.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has echoed this urgency, hinting on December 1 that Ukraine’s NATO membership could proceed even if parts of its internationally recognized territory remain outside the immediate scope of the alliance’s mutual defense clause, Article 5.
The renewed push for NATO integration highlights Ukraine’s determination to solidify its Euro-Atlantic ties amidst the ongoing war with Russia, framing membership as a vital step for national and regional stability.
