British General: Ukraine will never be a NATO member
A Retired General of the British Army, Richard Shirreff, who held a senior position in the European NATO structure, stated in an interview with Deutsche Welle that he believes that Ukraine should follow Finland’s example and not pursue NATO membership.
Shirreff is the author of the book, 2017: War with Russia. When asked if it is realistic that Ukraine will join NATO one day, he replied, "No, I don’t think it is even realistic. First of all, from a political perspective, Ukraine’s admission to NATO when a significant part of Ukraine is occupied by Russian troops may guarantee war."
"Another point – the foundation of NATO, Article 5 Collective Defense - states that an armed attack against one or more members in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against all.' That is why in terms of war, encouraging Ukraine to join NATO is a real military challenge. That is why I don’t think it is possible to talk realistically about Ukraine becoming a member of NATO," the retired General of the British Army emphasized.
Shirreff specified that Ukraine has to follow the example of Finland during the Cold War.
In response to the question of whether the NATO countries should support Ukraine, Shirreff answered that it’s better to do this bilaterally, since there is a risk that because of limited consent within the Alliance concerning the support of Ukraine, NATO will appear to be "ineffective and inconsistent."