President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, July 11, he was confident Ukraine would eventually join NATO after the alliance said the Russian-invaded country had an "irreversible" path to membership.
"We have strong wording regarding the irreversibility of Ukraine's movement towards NATO. Every step truly brings us closer to membership," Zelensky told a news conference at a NATO summit alongside the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg.
"We are doing and will continue to do everything to ensure that the day comes when Ukraine is invited and becomes a NATO member, and I am confident we will achieve this," he said.
Zelensky's reaction was significantly warmer than a year ago at the NATO summit in Lithuania where he was visibly upset that there was not a firmer promise on membership.
NATO, formed in the Cold War, is a collective defense pact in which an attack on one ally is an attack on all.
The United States and Germany have led concerns about quickly bringing Ukraine into NATO, believing it would effectively put them at war with nuclear-armed Russia.
A declaration issued Wednesday at the 75th anniversary NATO summit in Washington said leaders supported Ukraine on "its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited Ukraine's NATO aspirations as a reason to attack the former Soviet republic, rejecting the idea that the country has a separate historical identity.
Meanwhile, the United States' plan to periodically station long-range missiles in Germany will lead to Cold War-style confrontation between Russia and the West, the Kremlin said Thursday.
The White House announced the decision on Wednesday during a NATO summit in Washington, arguing the stationing of long-range weapons including Tomahawk cruise missiles in Europe acts as a deterrent.
"We are taking steady steps towards the Cold War," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a state TV reporter. "All the attributes of the Cold War with the direct confrontation are returning," he said.
He added Washington's decision gave Russia "a reason to pull together" and "fulfil all the goals" of its military campaign in Ukraine.
NATO countries spearheaded by the United States have bolstered their defences in Europe in the wake of Russia's 2022 offensive against neighbouring Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the planned deployment of the US weapons in his country, calling the move a "necessary and important decision at the right time".