Ukraine is not a member of NATO and is probably not going to be a member of NATO anytime soon. But Ukraine was definitely the big headliner of the NATO summit, both for what it got and for what it didn’t.
Ahead of NATO’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, the alliance sought a show of solidarity and unity as Russia’s war in Ukraine enters a precarious period. Kyiv is waging its counteroffensive to liberate Russian-occupied territory, but it is slow going. Even though that was somewhat expected, Western leaders are worrying whether Ukraine — and their own stockpiles — can sustain such a war. The summit represented a chance to recommit to Ukraine, but also to lay out NATO’s political and military future in a changed Europe and world.
All of that raised the stakes for this summit, which was full of big agenda items like spending commitments and regional defense planning. But questions around Ukraine’s status took up most of the political urgency.
What Ukraine got from the NATO summit
Ahead of the summit, Kyiv wanted a more substantial timeline for joining the alliance, rather than the vague promise of someday becoming a NATO member. It was backed by some NATO members, including some in Eastern Europe. Other countries, the United States and Germany among them, were reluctant to offer any concrete commitments while Ukraine is fighting a war with no clear end, as it would risk pulling the alliance more directly into the conflict.
That more cautious approach won out. In NATO’s official communiqué from the summit, it said allies have agreed that Ukraine can join NATO when “conditions are met.” Exactly what those conditions are was not clearly defined, though officials have indicated that it includes ongoing political and rule-of-law reforms, beyond just a stop to Russia’s war.
NATO tried to sweeten the deal by scrapping Ukraine’s Membership Action Plan (MAP) — a series of formal benchmarks prospective NATO members have to follow — a…
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