NATO summit 2023 - what benefits will the Alliance get from Ukraine's accession

At its upcoming Vilnius summit in July, NATO should provide a clear roadmap for Ukraine's membership, otherwise, a dangerous precedent will be set that will provoke new threats not only for Ukraine but also for the collective security of Western countries, especially the European Union.

"Russia is at war not only against Ukraine, which it cannot break. Russia is waging a war against the entire democratic society, and parliaments are at the forefront of this front," said Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė during a meeting with the heads of parliaments of NATO member states. According to the Lithuanian leader, the West has no other option but to "pass this test of unity and endurance with dignity." And it is not a matter of choice, but rather a duty of leaders who care about the safety of their citizens.

"Because Putin's hatred of democracy, combined with Russia's imperial ambitions, is a long-term threat that extends far beyond Ukraine," emphasized Šimonytė.

Why is Ukraine's membership in NATO so important? What benefits will member states gain once Ukraine joins the Alliance?

Ukraine's membership in NATO is the only way to achieve lasting peace in Europe

De jure, the International Alliance NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization - was founded on April 4, 1949, for the collective defense of Western Europe and North America, based on the principles of Article 51 of the UN Charter.

De facto, NATO was created primarily to defend Western countries from the threat of expansion by the totalitarian USSR.

The Cold War ended in 1991, along with the collapse of the Soviet Union, but Moscow launched a new "hot" war in 2014, escalating it in an unprecedented way in 2022.

The threats to collective security that the USSR once posed look like harmless fun today, compared to the open danger that Russia creates and implements. With all its faults, the Soviet Union tried to at least demonstrate respect for international norms and rules. Russia, on the other hand, openly threatens Western countries with nuclear weapons, wages information and cyber warfare, openly ignores basic international agreements, and wages an open war of aggression and genocide on the territory of another sovereign state.

For years, NATO countries have been looking for a way to "appease" the Russian "bear" - but this strategy is proven to be harmful.

Henry Kissinger, a heavyweight of geopolitics who recently celebrated his 100th birthday, has spent his life professing the goal of "avoiding a major war at all costs." One of the world's most influential foreign policy strategists believed that it was beneficial to collective security to keep Ukraine in a neutral buffer zone until now. Today, Kissinger believes that a "major war" between superpowers, including China, can be avoided only if Ukraine becomes a member of the Alliance. “What the Europeans are now saying is, in my view, madly dangerous. Because the Europeans are saying: 'We don't want them in NATO, because they're too risky. And therefore, we'll arm the hell out of them and give them the most advanced weapons. And how can that possibly work? We shouldn't end [the war] in the wrong way,” Kissinger told The Economist. “The outcome should be one in which Ukraine remains protected by Europe and doesn't become a solitary state just looking out for itself.”

Ukraine's membership in NATO is a deterrent to a major war, and an alternative is hard to find. Moreover, without this step, it is impossible to achieve sustainable peace in Europe. Expanding the Alliance's presence on its eastern borders is a key factor in building a European security system for the next 50 years or until the end of the century.

Ukrainian army will strengthen NATO 

NATO operates as a collective security alliance "to provide mutual defense by military and political means should a member state face an external threat." This basic premise is enshrined in Article 5 of the NATO Charter.

The Ukrainian army demonstrates its ability to defend security by military means on the battlefield. Ukraine's armed forces are among the largest in Europe and by far one of the most experienced.

The Ukrainian army is gaining its skills by practicing confronting one of the most advanced, aggressive, and brutal armies in the world. Russia is fighting using hybrid methods of warfare beyond the scope of NATO doctrines. The Russians combine inhumane practices of the 19th and 20th centuries with fifth- and sixth-generation technologies. High-intensity warfare involves attacks on military and civilians using modern intelligence, drones, and active firepower, including artillery and ballistics. Most NATO member states' armies have no practical experience in dealing with such threats, or perhaps no psychological readiness to wage a real war in case of open or hybrid aggression.

The Ukrainian army with its motivated, qualified, and capable forces can significantly strengthen NATO's defense capabilities. This is a significant practical contribution that Kyiv can offer to the Alliance. The expertise of the Ukrainian army will strengthen NATO's eastern borders and revitalize the system of relations of the entire North Atlantic Alliance.

The West's message to Russia 

The Kremlin does not understand halftones. For Putin, "red lines" are not about showing strength, but simply about weakness, which is taken as a signal to continue implementing aggressive plans and actions. Ukraine's actual membership in NATO, instead of numerous statements, will give the Kremlin a clear understanding of real borders that cannot be violated without consequences.

"We need to accept the inevitable: that Ukraine will become a NATO member, and sooner rather than later. It is time for the alliance to stop making excuses and start the process that leads to Ukraine’s eventual accession, showing Putin that he has already failed and forcing him to temper his ambitions," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote in an article for Foreign Affairs.

The demonstration of the unity of the West and Ukraine will also lead to an alliance in countering the Kremlin's ideological attack on the identity of Ukrainians and other peoples that Russia conveniently considers "brotherly." The imperial myths about the desire of the peoples of the former Soviet Union to unite under Moscow's rule and the alleged need to save the Russian-speaking population will be destroyed.

Recent statements by Russian politicians questioning Lithuania's independence and threatening to "denazify Poland just after Ukraine" clearly show that Russia does not limit its ambitions to the territory of Ukraine. Ukraine's accession to NATO will eliminate the remnants of the artificially created by Russian propagandists border division in Europe after the USSR collapsed.

It is therefore in the interest of the EU countries, as well as other Western democracies, to support NATO's expansion.

Today, the outcome of the Russian-Ukrainian war depends on Ukraine's membership in NATO, determining the security of citizens of the EU, the UK and the entire world for generations to come.

Strategically, the sustainable and long-term unification of European countries under the auspices of NATO is one of the key challenges of the 21st century. This process can be completed only with the accession of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and other countries and peoples that identify themselves with the European system of values to the single security and institutional space.

If the current European security architecture remains "as it is," Russia will maintain its status quo. This means that the European continent will not see peace, but the suspension of war. Ukraine will arm itself, and Russia will prepare for a new attack. Such compromises will ultimately cost double. Just like after World War I, when the collective European "common sense" paralyzed by fear of war made it possible for the emergence and development of an even bloodier World War II.