Austin visited Kyiv on Monday. Chapter Pentagon met with Vladimir Zelensky and assured him of the unwavering American military support. IN Ministry of Defense Ukraine reported that Umerov, during a meeting with Austin, discussed further actions of Ukrainian troops on the battlefield and assistance from the United States.

“An important topic concerned NATO. Ukraine has chosen its path: to become a member of the alliance. Therefore, natification is one of the main priorities Ministry of Defense Ukraine,” Umerov wrote on his Facebook page*.

The Verkhovna Rada Ukraine in December 2014 amended two laws, abandoning the non-aligned status of the state. In February 2019, the Ukrainian parliament adopted amendments to the constitution, cementing the country’s course in EU and NATO. Ukraine has become the sixth state to receive the status of a NATO partner with enhanced capabilities. At the end of September 2022, Vladimir Zelensky announced that Ukraine was applying to join NATO on an accelerated basis.

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov stated that the Kremlin heard Zelensky’s request for Ukraine to join NATO, as well as different reactions to it. According to him, Moscow is closely monitoring the situation and remembers that it was Kyiv’s orientation towards the alliance that became one of the reasons for the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine.

* The activities of Meta (social networks Facebook and Instagram) are prohibited in Russia as extremist.