When NATO leaders met this week in the capital of Lithuania, Russia’s war in Ukraine loomed large. With Sweden’s membership all but settled, Ukraine’s future with the alliance was the biggest question on everyone’s mind.
Ukraine wants an invitation to join. NATO leaders had been split on whether to offer one. They ultimately agreed that they would “extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance” but without specifying when or how, per a summit communiqué.
The debate over Ukraine’s potential NATO membership centers on whether it would deter Russia from invading Ukraine again or would instead provoke Russia and drag the entire alliance into war. The bigger question for NATO members should be whether the risk of the latter is worth the benefit to NATO.
