Zelensky has said he understands Ukraine can't join NATO until the war is over. I think your hypothetical is the reason they wouldn't be able join in the first place unless they're in peacetime.
this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2023
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War in Ukraine
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War is organized murder and nothing else.
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Good thing Russia made it very clear from the get go that it wasn't an invasion, or a war.
How does this work when a new country joins NATO that is currently in a conflict?
Pretty sure it doesn't. If I'm not mistaken there are some rules for the ountry that joins that it can't be in a conflict like that to avoid precicely what you ask
I thought so too, but while looking for a source I found out that isn't actually the case. The rules of accession mention nothing concrete regarding territorial integrity or border disputes. See this article from unian.info for more info
However, the articles have the logical consequence that, if Ukraine was to join NATO and Russia didn't immediately end its war and pull out, the ongoing presence of Russians on internationally-recognized Ukrainian territory would trigger Article 5.
the articles have the logical consequence that, if Ukraine was to join NATO and Russia didn't immediately end its war and pull out, the ongoing presence of Russians on internationally-recognized Ukrainian territory would trigger Article 5.
That is my understanding as well. That's why they don't intend for Ukraine to join until this gets resolved.
Zelensky and NATO both understand each other that Ukraine CANNOT enter NATO while at war. No country can enter NATO while at war.
But yes, if later it would invade Ukraine, it would be NATO vs Russia not Ukraine vs Russia. That's why Russia is so defensive.
There is pretty good consensus around not joining NATO while you're in a territorial dispute.
Which is one reason why Russia love to maintain low-intensity border conflicts with non-NATO member countries, just to keep them out of NATO. Russia is gaming that rule to the extent that the world might actually be a more peaceful place if NATO scrapped that rule and allowed new members with a border conflict.