Russia Demands NATO Officially Cancel Promise of Ukraine Membership; Stoltenberg Rejects Demand

Head of Ukraine's Defense Ministry Intelligence Directorate (HUR) says Ukraine cannot stand alone against Russia.

Russia demands that NATO legally withdraw the promise of Ukraine's accession, which was made at the 2008 summit in Bucharest. We explain what the Russian statement says and how the Alliance reacted. 

Russia's Demand

A statement on the Russian Foreign Ministry website says: "In the fundamental interests of European security, it is necessary to officially repudiate the decision of the 2008 NATO Bucharest Summit that "Ukraine and Georgia will become members of NATO," as contradicting the commitment of the leaders of all OSCE participating states "not to strengthen their own security at the expense of the security of others." 

Moscow demands the withdrawal of exercise areas to an agreed distance from the Russia-NATO line of contact, agreement on a limit distance for the approach of warships and aircraft to prevent dangerous military activity, primarily in the Baltic and Black Sea regions, and the resumption of regular dialogue between the defense departments along the Russia-US and Russia-NATO lines. 

Recall that Biden's adviser assured that the US president made no concessions in response to Putin's demand not to admit Ukraine into the Alliance. However, the White House agreed to negotiations with Putin's team on how to address Russia's concerns. 

What NATO Said

The NATO Secretary General rejected Russia's demand that the West prevent Ukraine from joining the North Atlantic Alliance and reminded that the question of joining the Alliance will be decided by member states and Ukraine itself. 

Jens Stoltenberg
NATO Secretary General

NATO's relations with Ukraine will be decided by the 30 NATO allies and Ukraine itself, and no one else. We cannot agree with Russia's attempt to restore a system in which major states, such as Russia, have spheres of influence where they can control or decide what other states may do. 

Confrontation with Russia

Head of the Defense Ministry's HUR said that Ukraine cannot stand alone against Russia in a full-scale war without Western military intervention. 

According to him, Ukraine should acknowledge at this stage that the country lacks the military resources to counter a full-scale Russian offensive. He described the details of the worst-case scenario in the event of a possible attack. 

Budanov believes that Russians will first begin missile and air strikes on arsenals in the rear, as well as on military personnel in trenches. Then, within a relatively short period, the Ukrainian military command will be unable to coordinate defense lines and ensure the transport of reserve forces, so responsibility will pass entirely to field commanders. 

Kyrylo Budanov
Head of the HUR of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense

They (Ukrainian armed units — ed.) will hold the line until they run out of bullets. They will use whatever is at hand at that moment, but believe me, without timely support (from the West — ed.) no army can hold out on its own. They (the leaders of Western democracies — ed.) need to decide whether we are allies, as they declare — and allies help each other — or they need to honestly admit that this is not so. If the civilized world wants to avoid a universal catastrophe for everyone, we need military technical assistance now. Not tomorrow, not the day after tomorrow, not in a year. Now. 

Also, an anonymous source in the Ukrainian General Staff reported that American Javelin anti-tank systems were deployed to the line of contact a month ago, but have not yet been used. 

An unnamed official in Ukraine's Defense Ministry said that if military resistance to a Russian offensive fails, the Ukrainian government will be forced to simply open its weapons arsenals and distribute them to ordinary Ukrainian citizens to protect themselves and their families. 

According to NYT information, Ukrainian military leaders seriously assess as highly likely the waging of partisan warfare behind Russian lines if the offensive cannot be stopped with the help of the Armed Forces. In support of its assumption, the source cited the readiness of half a million veterans of the ATO and JFO to fight against Russian troops.