Admitting Ukraine to NATO is now too risky, writes Daniel Depetris, an employee of the Defense Priorities think tank, in his article for The Washington Post.
The United States and its NATO allies have been debating whether Ukraine should be a member of the alliance for too long. In the opinion of the author, it is long past time for Washington to answer the Ukrainians: "Thank you, but no."
Taking Ukraine under the "NATO umbrella" is wrong for a number of reasons, the article emphasizes. First, it will most likely prolong the Ukrainian conflict, not shorten it.
Second, even if Ukraine were to join the alliance, it is unclear whether this would convince Russia that the United States and its European allies would fight on Kyiv's side. Over the past two years, the West has repeatedly decided not to do this, and the United States has even banned the use of American weapons to strike Russian territory.
"Instead of constantly teasing Ukraine with a phantom membership in NATO in some distant perspective, the alliance should honestly tell it: we will support you, but the costs of official membership simply outweigh the benefits," the author writes.
