Ukraine wants to be in NATO and it will be, Ukraine's defence minister says in response to Pentagon chief's remarks

Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umierov has stressed that Ukraine has not changed its stance on membership of the North Atlantic Alliance. Umierov was responding to an earlier statement by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who claimed that NATO membership for Ukraine is unrealistic.

Source: Umierov in a comment to journalists in Brussels after a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (also known as the Ramstein Group) on 12 February, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The defence minister emphasised that Kyiv's stance remains unchanged – Ukraine wants to join NATO and will achieve that goal.

"We have to get used to all kinds of statements. Our position has always remained unchanged. We want to be a NATO country. We will be a NATO country," Umierov stressed.

He further added that Ukraine will also become a member of the European Union.

"We're maintaining our defence potential and we're capable of doing so. We have our own priorities and we draw all conclusions together with our people," he said.

Umierov added that the Ramstein-format meetings focus on defence assistance, while "all the political matters will not be discussed by defence ministers", but at a different level.

Background:

• US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said before the start of the Ramstein meeting in Brussels on 12 February that Washington does not consider NATO membership for Ukraine a realistic outcome of a negotiated war settlement.
• UK Defence Secretary John Healey, however, is continuing to insist that Ukraine should join NATO, though the process will take time.

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