NATO hesitation on Ukraine membership draws Zelensky's ire

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, expressed his disappointment with NATO's lack of readiness to invite Ukraine to the alliance. In his opinion, such an approach is not suitable for world leaders. "If NATO is not yet ready to defend us and take us into its alliance, we ask them to give us everything so that we can defend ourselves," Zelensky said.

During an interview with "The Philadelphia Inquirer," which Ukrainian media discussed on Sunday, Zelensky expressed his concerns about the current situation. "This indicates that everyone does not see Ukraine in NATO today. Unfortunately, this is the policy of one step forward, two steps back," said the President of Ukraine. The press service of the President of Ukraine published this interview.

Zelensky stressed that such a cautious approach is unsuitable for world leaders. He stated that, in his opinion, this was not the policy that world leaders should pursue; hence, these were cautious steps—"the steps of a sapper in a minefield," Zelensky said, referring to the upcoming NATO summit in Washington and Ukraine's expectations

The President of Ukraine also addressed strategic partners, particularly the USA, to provide Ukraine with defensive means. "Understanding all this, if there is no invitation for us today, we want specifics. If America is afraid of annoying Putin, and that is precisely why we are not invited there, then we ask the USA to give us everything that can protect us as much as possible. We ask for Patriots, enough F-16s, enough weapons to defend ourselves," said Zelensky.

Zelensky also drew attention to the issue of guided bombs fired by Russian planes that pose a massive threat to Ukraine. According to him, an effective solution to this problem would be to use ATACMS missiles to attack airfields deep within Russian territory. Russia uses thousands of guided bombs in a month, and shooting them down with the weapons Ukraine currently has is practically impossible. Zelensky stressed that the most effective way to combat KABs would be to attack the airfields from which the planes take off.

The President of Ukraine also referred to the agreement made by Russia with North Korea. In his opinion, this rapprochement is a "good signal" for Ukraine because it may harm Russia's relations with China. Zelensky believes that Putin is risking ties with Beijing, but he has no other option because he is isolated. "He was forced by political isolation and, secondly, he lacks artillery. He puts the relations with China at risk simply because of the lack of ammunition. And this is a good signal for our troops – Russia is not doing that well on the battlefield," assessed Zelensky.

Finally, the President of Ukraine expressed his conviction that the West should take action to detach China from Russia, no matter how difficult it might be.