– Ukraine has become a member of NATO, not legally, but de facto, says Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Oleksiy Reznikov to the BBC. The Minister of Defense reasons that Western countries are no longer anxious that their arms deliveries are seen as an escalation on the Russian side. Arms support to Ukraine is increasing further. At the start of the second year of the war, the country will receive both storm armored vehicles, tanks and advanced missile systems from the United States and other Western countries. Norway is also stepping up arms support to the Ukrainians. Ukraine’s defense minister is not worried that his statement will lead to a Russian backlash. – They attack my cities, my hospitals, my kindergartens and schools. They have killed many civilians. They are an army of rapists, murderers, and thieves. Can it get worse than that?, says Reznikov to the BBC. A clear challenge for NATO Ukraine has been trying to become a member of the NATO defense alliance for years. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is justified by Vladimir Putin in what he believes to be the West’s attempt to weaken Russia. NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has been challenged by Ukraine’s defense minister, who claims that Ukraine has in reality become a NATO member, claims an expert. Photo: JOHN THYS / AFP The statement by the Ukrainian Defense Minister is not without political explosiveness, and represents a not inconsiderable nut for NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Because the ever-increasing military support for Ukraine can lead to a situation where “the table catches”, according to diplomacy expert and director Iver B. Neumann at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. – What the Ukrainian defense minister is doing is an example of a well-tested negotiation technique called “Antony Trollope’s move”, says Neumann. The English author (1815–1882) writes in one of his books about a man who courts a woman, before she next pretends that he has proposed to her even though he actually has not. Director Iver B. Neumann at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. Photo: Earl Fr. Erichsen / NTB Neumans sees clear parallels to the relationship between Ukraine and NATO. NATO’s clear support for Finland and Sweden, which are not yet members, is also part of this picture. It will be a rhetorical challenge to Ukraine, according to Neumann. – Because if NATO does not respond to what the defense minister says, then it will stand, says Neumann. – Drawing the conclusion too far The Ukrainians are encouraged by the large military support they receive from the NATO countries, but drawing the conclusion too far, believes a Norwegian military expert. – The West and NATO see Ukraine as very important, but will not risk a major war in Europe or a 3rd World War as long as Ukraine is not a member of NATO, says Professor Tormod Heier at the Norwegian Defense Staff School to news. Professor Tormod Heier at the Defense Staff School. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB NATO’s Article 5 states that an attack on a member state is an attack on the entire defense alliance. The ever-increasing military support for Ukraine is primarily an expression that NATO is not as anxious about Russia as they were before they attacked Ukraine, and before they saw how relatively little Russian progress has been on the battlefield, claims Heier . Nato has not responded to news’s inquiry about the matter on Friday evening.
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Ukraine claims they have in reality become a NATO member – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
