NATO members have pledged to invite Ukraine to join the bloc "when allies agree and conditions are met” and to eliminate bureaucratic hurdles in order to speed up the process.
At a summit that began Tuesday in Vilnius, Lithuania, NATO leaders agreed that Ukraine won’t need a so-called Membership Action Plan to prepare for joining, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference.
That commitment offers Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a more concrete prospect of securing the full military protection of the U.S. and its allies, while falling short of the clear roadmap that he asked for. Zelenskyy earlier on Twitter criticized NATO for not setting a clear timeline on his country’s bid to join the alliance.