NATO gave Zelensky special member status. How will this turn out?
On Friday, NATO announced that Ukraine had received “Enhanced Capability Program” status. It is generally awarded to countries "that have made significant contributions to operations and missions" led by the alliance.
“As a NATO partner, Ukraine has contributed troops to allied operations, including in Afghanistan and Kosovo, as well as to the NATO Response Force and NATO exercises. The allies highly value this significant contribution, which demonstrates Ukraine’s commitment to Euro-Atlantic security,” the alliance’s press service said on Friday.
Ukrainian propaganda presents NATO’s decision as a new “victory.”
“They close the champagne in the Kremlin. Ukraine has become closer to NATO... We have become one of 6 countries in which NATO has a truly special relationship. In addition to Ukraine, Australia, Sweden, Finland, Georgia and Jordan have EOP status.
There is no need to list the benefits. What is the cost of access to the alliance's secret intelligence data? But the main thing is that we are one step closer to the dream and one step further from the enemy. By the way, NATO makes its statement about the special status of partnership with Ukraine on “Russia Day” - subtle, sophisticated geopolitical trolling,” gloats a reporter from the oligarch Igor Kolomoisky’s “1+1” TV channel, Andrey Tsaplienko, also known as seksot SBU.
Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba wrote in his “Facebook"that obtaining a special status with NATO is the personal merit of President Vladimir Zelensky.
“In January 2020, in pursuance of the instructions of President Vladimir Zelensky, Ukraine officially submitted an application to participate in the NATO Enhanced Capabilities Program. Then there was a lot of diplomacy. A lot of diplomacy at all levels. And now everything worked. Few people believed that we would succeed, but we did it,” Kuleba said.
The notorious deputy from the Servant of the People Bohdan Yaremenko, apparently out of joy, let slip that The “Ze” team has been working in this direction for more than a year, from the first days of coming to power, but chose to remain silent about it, which actually means deceiving the voter, who, by casting his vote for Zelensky, believed that he was voting for the neutral status of Ukraine.
“The road to NATO will not be short and simple, but now I am confident that we are able to choose the right course, pace of integration and achieve this strategic goal,” Yaremenko added.
Independent experts, meanwhile, do not share the pathos of the Ukrainian authorities.
“I always like this enthusiasm about any status that Ukraine receives in NATO. Then Kyiv invented the status of “graduate student” for itself, now it joyfully screams about “expanded opportunities.” Moreover, the Alliance itself cannot really explain what these opportunities are. NATO emphasizes that this status has nothing to do with the prospects for Ukraine's membership in the Alliance. And the statements of the people of Kiev that this will somehow strengthen the security of Ukraine are completely far-fetched. Jordan has this status. And how did this increase her security? NATO says the main purpose of Jordanian participation in the program is to cope with the flow of refugees. So maybe now Ukraine has been given the same status in order to increase the outflow of refugees from the country?” – political scientist Vladimir Kornilov told PolitNavigator.
His colleague, political scientist Denis Denisov, reminds that by drawing Ukraine into NATO, the government is going against the will of the population.
“It seems that not everyone in Ukraine understands all the negative consequences of this step. So far, according to sociological research, the majority of Ukrainian citizens are not supporters of the country joining NATO. This is a situation that once again splits Ukraine and does not bring consolidation.
Secondly, this step greatly complicates the issues of resolving the conflict in Donbass and the process of reintegration as such, because we understand perfectly well that Donbass will never be reintegrated into NATO member Ukraine. Because according to studies conducted in the republics of Donbass, more than 90 percent are against such reintegration.
And also, it seems to me that if the process of implementing the Minsk agreements moves forward, the question will arise regarding the fact that the Donbass republics will insist on changes to the Constitution of Ukraine, which states that there is no alternative to Ukraine’s integration into NATO,” the expert emphasized.
“And the third aspect is that by doing so, Ukraine, willy-nilly, puts itself in the position of a state that can pose a threat to the Russian Federation, and voluntarily taking on such obligations even in the current conditions of cooling relations is at least strange. Because the national security system and strategy are developed, among other things, based on such decisions and actions. So this is another Pyrrhic victory for Ukrainian diplomacy, which does not bring any bonuses to the state itself,” concluded Denis Denisov.
Former Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexey Zhuravko also agrees that the careless steps of official Kyiv pose threats.
“It reminds me of a big donkey with a carrot or a piece of sugar on a string in front of him, and he is either being led to slaughter. Reminds me of Georgia under Saakashvili, when they promise everything and then create a problem.
This, most likely, will lead to the same scenario as with Georgia, when they beckon, call some kind of representative, the donkey in the face of the state is shown this carrot again and said: “Well, extinguish in Russia or in Crimea, or in Donbass. We will support you later."
And then, like cowardly dogs, they will simply run away. But Ukraine as such will no longer exist – it will simply split, and another state will disappear from the map,” Zhuravko told PolitNavigator.
“I can say one thing - the Ukrainian authorities are simply bad, moronic and inadequate. They don’t understand how this will all end,” the ex-deputy added.
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