Slovak defence minister: Ukraine will never join NATO

Slovak Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák has stated that Ukraine will never join NATO and criticised the work of the Coalition of the Willing.

In Kaliňák's view, the European Union should not interfere in collective defence and NATO should be in charge of it, because two commands cannot ensure defence.

He also believes a possible joint European army would be an important element of federalisation. "Either we are in NATO and then we don't need it, or we are in Europe," he said in an interview with Slovak news agency TASR, as reported by Slovak news portal Teraz.

Kaliňák reiterated his view that Ukraine will never be a member of NATO. He believes Ukraine will also face problems joining the European Union. He said the group of countries helping Ukraine, the Coalition of the Willing, has done nothing.

"Has it sent any soldiers? No, it hasn't. Of course not," Kaliňák said, adding that Ukraine had had a chance to end the war in 2022.

Ukrainians still consider NATO membership the best option for guaranteeing Ukraine's security, but the percentage of Ukrainians who believe this has fallen from 55% to 38% this year.

A separate study found that European leaders' willingness to continue supporting Ukraine despite a US "pivot" has boosted Ukrainians' trust in the European Union, but their trust in NATO has noticeably declined.