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Zelenskiy's NATO appeal amid Russian troop build-up
Summary
A look back at the Ukrainian president's call for faster accession to the alliance, set against a widening dispute over the Donbas ceasefire.
What did Kyiv ask of its allies on 6 April 2021? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on NATO to hasten his country's accession to the military alliance. He framed the request as a response to a growing build-up of Russian troops and military hardware on Ukraine's borders, and as a way to help end the conflict in the Donbas with pro-Russian separatists.
The war behind the appeal
The conflict in the Donbas broke out in 2014 and has killed more than 14,000 people. A ceasefire was agreed in July 2020, but by early April 2021 each side was blaming the other for its failure.
Moscow's accusation
A few days earlier, on 31 March 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of provoking armed confrontation with the separatists in the east of the country. He also said that Ukraine had failed to comply with the July 2020 ceasefire.
Taken together, the two statements set out the opposing positions as April began. Kyiv pointed to Russian forces massing on its borders and sought a faster route into NATO, while Moscow placed the blame for the fighting on Ukraine.
