NATO shows no sign of letting Ukraine join soon

BRUSSELS — NATO showed no sign on Wednesday it would invite Ukraine to join anytime soon as allies sought more information from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about his "victory plan "for ending the ongoing conflict.

The plan centers on a request to NATO to move forward on the "accelerated" membership application that Zelensky made two years ago to seek protection under the military alliance's security umbrella.

NATO's credibility is based on its collective security guarantee, Article 5 of its founding treaty. It's a commitment by all the 32 member countries to come to the aid of any member whose sovereignty or territory might be under attack.

However, it does not apply to a partner country like Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte declined to welcome the "victory plan", saying only that he and the allies "take note" of it. He did not discuss when Ukraine might join the world's biggest military alliance, beyond insisting that it would become a member.

"The plan has many aspects and many political and military issues we really need to hammer out with the Ukrainians to understand what is behind it, to see what we can do, what we cannot do," Rutte said at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

"We are in close contact with allies, with Ukraine, to see how we can take the next steps," he added.

For now, Rutte said, the focus must be on helping Ukraine to win back more territory and strengthen its hand for any future peace negotiations.

Zelensky explained elements of his plan on Thursday to leaders of the European Union, most of whom also stand among NATO's ranks.

Zelensky said that Ukraine would continue to fight even if Kyiv's Western allies did not agree to support his "victory plan".

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden spoke to Zelensky on Wednesday about efforts to increase security assistance to Ukraine and announced a new $425 million military aid package, the White House said.

It all comes as Ukrainian troops are struggling to hold off Russian forces, especially in the eastern Donetsk region where they are gradually being pushed back. Kyiv is surviving with Western help, but Ukraine says it is coming too slowly.

On the battlefield, Russia's defense ministry said on Thursday its forces had captured the village of Maksymilyanivka, in Ukraine's east as part of its advance in the Donetsk region toward the logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

Agencies via Xinhua