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Russia warns Kyiv over NATO membership push
Summary
A look back at the diplomatic exchange over Ukraine's bid for faster accession to the alliance, as Russian forces massed near its borders.
What was the argument over Ukraine and NATO on 8 April 2021? It followed a public exchange between Kyiv and Moscow in the preceding days, with the Donbas conflict at its centre.
On 6 April 2021, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on NATO to hasten his country's accession to the military alliance. He framed the appeal as a response to a growing build-up of Russian troops and military hardware on Ukraine's borders. He also said membership would help bring an end to the ongoing conflict in the Donbas with pro-Russian separatists.
On 7 April 2021, Russia answered. It warned that Ukraine joining NATO would exacerbate the Donbass conflict. The warning came after Ukraine urged the alliance to speed up its membership application.
By 8 April 2021, the two positions stood in direct opposition. Kyiv presented closer ties with NATO as a way to address both the military pressure on its borders and the war in the east. Moscow presented the same step as something that would worsen that war.
