What Ukraine Brings to NATO

— By Yuliya Tymoshenko

KYIV – This week, almost every Ukrainian will be looking longingly toward Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius. It is there, at the summit of NATO’s leaders, that our place in Europe and the West will begin to be decided.

Although virtually all Ukrainians dream of NATO membership, the brutal fighting in which we have been forced to engage since Russia invaded our country nearly 18 months ago has taught us hard lessons in realism. So, we are well aware that making our NATO dream a reality will be no easy feat. I am certainly aware: in 2008, I co-signed Ukraine’s application letter to NATO’s secretary-general. Yet Ukraine remained outside the alliance – with devastating consequences.

No one expects Ukraine to be offered NATO membership while war rages on our territory. This would, after all, compel the alliance, under Article 5 of its founding treaty, to intervene in the conflict. The idea of a full-scale war between NATO and Russia – a nuclear-armed country that has already demonstrated a criminal degree of recklessness – appeals to no one, Ukrainians included.

But the current war won’t last forever. The skill and bravery of our soldiers, together with the commitment of our allies and friends – not only NATO members, but also dozens of other countries, as far away as Japan – to supplying us with the tools we need to expel Russia from our territory will see to that. NATO membership for Ukraine, then, is about what is needed after the war ends. It is about restoring and maintaining peace in Europe, and thus fulfilling NATO’s most fundamental purpose.

Yet, within the alliance, there are doubts about the wisdom of making us members. Let me try to dispel some of them.

Some seem to worry that Ukraine will become a kind of free-rider, offering NATO nothing but headaches. But there can be no better evidence to the contrary than our effective resistance – and ultimate defeat – of Russia on the battlefield. In fact, our battle-tested, supremely confident military will be a major asset for transatlantic security for decades to come.

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