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Zelenskiy's NATO appeal amid Russian build-up
Summary
A look back at the Ukrainian president's call for faster alliance accession and the accusations that preceded it.
What did Kyiv ask of NATO on 6 April 2021, and why then? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the alliance to hasten Ukraine's accession, citing a growing build-up of Russian troops and military hardware on the country's borders. He also asked NATO to help end the conflict in the Donbas with pro-Russian separatists.
The appeal came days after Russian President Vladimir Putin, on 31 March 2021, accused Ukraine of "provoking armed confrontation" with the separatists in the east. Putin also said Ukraine had failed to comply with the July 2020 ceasefire.
The two positions framed the dispute at that point. Kyiv linked the Russian military presence near its borders to its security needs and pointed to NATO membership as a response. Moscow's account placed responsibility for the fighting on Ukraine and for the breakdown of the truce.
The stakes were already high: the conflict, which began in 2014, had killed over 14,000 people. The ceasefire of July 2020 was the arrangement Putin said Ukraine had not respected.
