Following comments at the Ukraine Contact Defense Group on Wednesday made by newly confirmed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that it was “unrealistic” that Ukraine could join NATO, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov stressed that Kyiv has not changed its stance on joining the Alliance.
“We have to get used to all kinds of statements,” Umerov said. “Our position has remained unchanged. We want to be a NATO country. We will be a NATO country.”
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Umerov also said on Wednesday at noon that he held his first meeting with Hegseth, without disclosing details of their discussions.
In addition to asserting that trying to return Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders was an “illusionary goal,” Hegseth insisted at the meeting in Ramstein, Germany, that “the United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.”
Meanwhile, not all allies are not of the same opinion. Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey, for example, continues to insist that Ukraine should join NATO, though he told a press conference in Ramstein that “the process will take time.”
“It’s the Ukrainians that are doing the fighting. It’s for them to decide when to start talking and on what terms,” Healey told Sky News on Wednesday.
Denmark’s Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish TV that they are fully on board with Ukraine’s membership in the alliance.
ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 12, 2025
“We have decided to offer Ukraine NATO membership,” Pouslon said. “But it’s also clear that we all need to reach agreement on this. In this sense, we can say that discussions about Ukraine’s future are ongoing,” he continued.
Germany, on the other hand, agrees with the US that it is too soon for Ukraine to become a full member of the Alliance.
“We must help Ukraine have a strong army because its economy cannot finance an army of the size needed for defense.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said earlier this week, but insisted NATO membership is not on the table as far as Berlin is concerned because “the US rejects this.”
Italy also frowned upon the idea of NATO troops on Ukrainian soil, with Prime Minister Giogia Meloni noting that Ital’y “support does not include the presence of troops from European or NATO states on Ukrainian territory.”
While Umerov persisted with Kyiv’s position, he went further in his comments, saying that Ukraine will also become an EU member as well, a process that is well outside the reach of he country’s military allies alone
“We’re maintaining our defense potential and we’re capable of doing so. We have our own priorities and we draw all conclusions together with our people,” Umerov said. “Political matters will not be discussed by defense ministers.”
Umerov was appointed Defense Minister in September 2023, replacing Oleksiy Reznikov, who was dismissed due to military procurement corruption scandals under his leadership.
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