Putin Says He Launched Invasion to Keep Ukraine Out of NATO

In his first remarks since the NATO summit in Lithuania closed, Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to play down promises that Ukraine would one day join the Western military alliance while at the same time using Kyiv’s potential membership to justify his invasion. 

“One of the reasons for the special military operation is the threat of Ukraine joining NATO,” Putin told state radio, using the official Russian euphemism for the war.

“I am sure that it will not increase Ukraine’s security, but will instead make the world much more vulnerable and will lead to further tension in the international arena. That’s why I don’t see anything good about this.”

At the same time, Putin added, every country had a right to maintain its own security in “whichever way it sees fit.”

Ukraine was denied a formal invitation or a timetable to join NATO at the summit, prompting a bracing social media outburst from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, but the embattled country received new security guarantees from the Group of Seven nations and pledges of new weapons.

Russia’s foreign ministry called the summit “a public humiliation of Ukraine,” while President Joe Biden said NATO had “created a path for membership for Ukraine as it continues to make progress on the necessary democratic and security reforms required of every NATO member.”

In his radio interview, Putin claimed he had no problem with the security guarantees offered to Kyiv. 

“But Ukraine, of course, has the right to ensure its security,” he said, notwithstanding the tens of thousands of Russian troops fighting there.

"For us, there’s nothing out of the ordinary about what was just declared by NATO and the G7. We are not against this type of discussion.” 

“But I’ll repeat myself once more — under the necessary condition that Russia’s security is ensured.”