Bucharest Nine: Ukraine should join NATO immediately after war with Russia

NATO allies have squabbled over the speed of Ukraine's eventual accession to the alliance, and Kyiv itself acknowledges it cannot come until its war following Russia's invasion ends.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met European leaders last week in Moldova as he urged NATO to provide security guarantees if membership was not possible for now.

Presidents of NATO eastern countries, most of which border Ukraine or Russia, met on Tuesday together with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, in a sign of further backing for Ukraine to be brought closer to NATO.

Poland's President Andrzej Duda said July's NATO summit in Vilnius would "play a key role in strengthening the security of our region".

"There's no doubt that we, as the eastern flank of NATO, feel the effects of what has been happening in Ukraine," he added.

Duda stressed the situation in Belarus was also negatively impacting the stability in the region. "We are dealing with hybrid attacks against our borders. Belarusian bases are being used to carry out attacks on Ukraine, and a decision has been made to transfer Russian nuclear weapons onto the territory of Belarus."

"We must also support Ukraine in a consistent and coherent manner, because Russia remains a threat to our security," the president added.

Finally, he underscored the importance of increasing security of NATO members and their citizens. "We must also chart out a clear perspective of Ukraine's accession to our Alliance."

"We are for strengthening relations with Ukraine in terms of concrete practical aid, but also in bringing relations with Ukraine closer," Slovak President Zuzana Caputova, who hosted the meeting, told a televised news conference.

"We do not consider this an expansion or encroachment of NATO toward Russia," she added, saying it would instead provide guarantees to NATO members that Russia will not absorb countries on its borders.

"It is also clear that Ukraine should really become a member of NATO. The question is when. And the answer is shortly and immediately after the war," Latvian President Egils Levits said after the meeting.

The eastern flank countries of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia - known collectively as the Bucharest Nine - have been among Ukraine's staunchest backers.

Some NATO members, though, fear a hasty move could bring the alliance closer to direct confrontation with Russia and Hungary's president Katalin Novak warned against making "unrealistic promises".

"We expect that in Vilnius, we will upgrade our political relations with Ukraine to a new level, and launch a new political track that will lead to Ukraine’s membership in NATO, once conditions allow," the Bucharest Nine's joint statement said.

Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda, who will host the Vilnius summit, told reporters that while the nine countries unanimously support Ukraine's membership of NATO, getting support from other NATO allies was "problematic".

Nauseda also stressed Ukraine cannot be left in "the grey zone' anymore. "We cannot risk a war in Europe again," he added. "We don't yet see which way this goes."

"Over the remaining weeks we must find a way to take a large step forward and not disappoint expectation of Ukraine and its supporters," the Lithuanian leader stressed.

"It would not be enough to repeat once more that NATO doors are open," Nauseda added.