Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine will build NATO on its territory if it is not accepted into the Alliance.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with The Economist on 11 February, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy noted that he would "very much like" to see Ukraine join NATO, but "America is against it, Germany is against it".

"And this is also a fact today. Although Germany and Hungary would support it, if America were in favour of it... Hungary will do whatever President Trump says," Zelenskyy stated, adding that the issue of security guarantees today depends entirely on President Donald Trump.

He also stressed that if Ukraine is not in NATO, "it means that Ukraine will build NATO on its territory".

"We need an army as large as the one the Russians have. And all this requires weapons and money. And we will ask the United States for this," Zelenskyy said.

He noted that Ukraine would need to double its armed forces to be on par with the Russian military. However, he believes Europe could support Ukraine's military expansion with funding, while the United States could supply specific weapons: long-range missiles and Patriot air defence systems.

Background: 

• Zelenskyy also expressed confidence that US President Donald Trump does not yet have a concrete plan to resolve the Russo-Ukrainian war.
• On 12 February, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claimed that restoring Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders was an unrealistic objective.
• He also said Washington does not consider NATO membership for Ukraine a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.

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