Ukraine will apply for fast-track NATO membership today, 30 September, the country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said in his address.
De facto, we have already made our way to NATO. De facto, we have already proven compatibility with the treaty’s standards, they are real for Ukraine both on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction.
We trust each other, we help each other and we protect each other. This is the Alliance. De facto. Today, Ukraine is applying to make it de jure. In a process that is consistent with our value in protecting our entire community. In an expedited manner. We are taking our decisive step by signing Ukraine's application for fast-track NATO membership,” Ukraine’s president said.
Zelensky also reported that the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine’s session ended today. “Ukraine was and remains a leader in negotiation efforts. It is obvious that this is impossible with this Russian President. He does not know what dignity and honesty are. Therefore, we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another President. Only the path of strengthening Ukraine and expelling the occupiers from our entire territory will restore peace. We shall stay on this path. It is in Ukraine that the fate of democracy is being decided in the confrontation with tyranny,” he said.
Vladimir Putin, alongside the Russia-appointed occupation governors, signed papers that formally completed Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson earlier today. Putin delivered a long speech in the Kremlin, urging Ukraine to stop combat and renew negotiations. However, “the choice that the people of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson have made” is not subject to discussion, he said.
No member of Zelensky’s administration has watched Putin’s address, spokesman Serhiy Nikiforov said.
