"I know NATO very well. For about 12 years, I was personally involved in helping us adopt NATO standards, and every year I heard the same stories that we were just about to join NATO. Unfortunately, we will never join it!" - Ukraine's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said during a discussion on Euro-Atlantic integration at the joint meeting of Ukrainian ambassadors in Kyiv, according to European Pravda.
Zaluzhnyi noted that the obstacle to Ukraine's accession to the Alliance is that "it is impossible to join, with the current level of development of the Armed Forces of Ukraine... an organization that is guided by World War II doctrines".
He also gave a highly critical assessment of NATO's capabilities, despite the membership of the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries.
"Most likely, NATO will remain as it is, and another 12 years will pass while Ukraine transitions to the standards necessary to reach at least half the level of the russian federation", - Zaluzhnyi said.
In the context of security guarantees for Ukraine, Zaluzhnyi believes that NATO is not the effective solution, but rather other alliances.
"Ukraine... will join blocs and alliances that will likely be formed. Most likely, this will involve a European military and security bloc", - the general emphasized.