world news today: The Russo-Ukrainian Conflict and Understanding Ukraine's Desire to Join NATO

International concerns about Russia's provocative attitude towards Ukraine persist, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin denies any planned attacks. Putin built more than 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border.

Meanwhile, the US and other NATO allies have deployed hundreds of troops to Eastern Europe. The Russian leader has claimed he will step down if Nato bans Ukraine from joining his alliance. A request that NATO has refused.

Alastair Kocho-Williams, Professor of History at Clarkson University in his article in The Conversation explains why Ukraine wants to join NATO and trigger tensions with Russia.

Prevention of Russian aggression Ukraine has partnered with NATO since 1992. The Ukraine-NATO Commission in 1997, as a forum for discussion on security issues and as a way to advance NATO-Ukraine relations – without a formal membership agreement.

Membership with NATO will significantly increase Ukraine's international military support, enable NATO military action inside Ukraine and work alongside its military members. This guarantee of military strength will act as a strong deterrent against Russian aggression.

NATO has clear boundaries about its support for non-member countries. While it has supported non-member countries such as Afghanistan during humanitarian emergencies, NATO has not committed to deploying troops to non-member countries.

Strengthening alliances with the West NATO membership would also draw Ukraine more strongly to Europe, and make it more likely to join the European Union — another policy goal for Ukraine. Membership will also help the country build closer ties with the US. At the same time joining the alliance could pull Ukraine further out of Russia's sphere of influence.

But regional tensions could be exacerbated if Ukraine becomes a NATO member, as Russia says it will interpret the alliance's expansion as a direct threat to its country.

Professor Williams of Clarkson University believes that Ukraine is indeed making progress in gaining NATO membership, but that does not mean that the possibility of joining NATO (if any) can materialize quickly.

All NATO members must unanimously agree on a new state, based on factors such as a functioning democracy and “unresolved external territorial disputes”. As a result, the presence of Russian troops encamped on the Ukrainian border can certainly cause problems.

NATO membership is open to any European country that can "contribute to the security of the North Atlantic region." Countries wishing to become members must follow a “Membership Action Plan”, an application process that requires countries to detail their security and political policies.

It can take 20 years for a country to finalize the plan and get an entry permit, as in the case of North Macedonia.

Former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma publicly announced Ukraine's interest in NATO membership in May 2002. Ukraine then put forward a Membership Action Plan in 2008. This process stalled in 2010 under former President Viktor Yanukovych, a Putin-backed politician who does not want to have relations with NATO. .

Ukraine recently revived its plans to join NATO, especially to deal with the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. In 2017, Ukraine adopted a constitutional amendment committed to becoming a NATO member.

Subsequently in 2021, Ukraine adopted a National Security Strategy which aims to develop its NATO partnership. The NATO application process "has dragged on for a very long time," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in September 2021.

According to Williams, an independent and sovereign Ukraine will support NATO's goal of Euro-Atlantic stability, especially since Ukraine has expressed greater urgency to join the alliance than NATO itself.

But with Ukraine entering NATO now it is seen as a problem. Because the threat of an imminent conflict between Ukraine and Russia, could make NATO take military action against Russia.

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