| Could Ukraine join NATO? |
| At meetings yesterday in Oslo and Bulboaca, Moldova, top world officials discussed Ukraine’s application for membership in NATO. The talks demonstrated how Russia’s invasion has forged closer ties among Western nations, expanding and strengthening the military alliance — precisely what the Kremlin wanted to prevent. |
| As the war threatens to settle into a stalemate, Western countries that have spent billions arming Ukraine are turning their focus to longer-term means of providing support and to shaping Ukraine’s relationship with NATO, which the country has sought to join since 2008. |
| The world is watching for an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive that officials believe could reframe broader debates about the war. Unless Ukraine makes unexpectedly large gains in that counteroffensive, a cease-fire could play to Moscow’s advantage, given that Russia is still likely to occupy large swaths of Ukraine. |
| Details: In Oslo, foreign ministers discussed whether NATO might provide long-term security guarantees to Ukraine that would be short of full membership but could serve as a pathway to that outcome. In Moldova, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that his country was “ready to join NATO” and awaiting the alliance’s approval. |
| Sweden: The country’s NATO application, which must be approved by unanimous consent, is still pending after months of obstruction by Turkey. Hungary, an alliance member that has maintained good relations with Russia, has also not given Sweden its approval. |
| In other news: The Russian border town of Shebekino is facing the frontline reality of the war against Ukraine. |
