The Kiev regime’s prospects of joining NATO “seem even dimmer” with President-elect Donald Trump about to take office, The New York Times speculated.
Trump and his team have reportedly signaled reluctance to support Ukraine’s membership in the bloc. Throughout his campaign, the Republican repeatedly vowed to settle the Ukraine conflict if reelected and threatened to cut aid to the Volodymyr Zelensky regime.
NATO members have been wary of extending an invitation to Kiev amid concerns that the bloc would become an “active participant in the fighting,” the publication noted.
Zelensky recently floated the idea that the “hot phase” of the conflict could end if Ukraine were taken “under the NATO umbrella.” His remarks, made in an interview with British media, are seen as an indication that Kiev is “warming up” to the possibility of peace talks with Moscow, the outlet said.
As Zelensky continues his unrequited pining for NATO membership, Russia’s Armed Forces are pressing ahead with steady advances, inflicting catastrophic losses on the enemy.
The situation is “precarious” for the Ukrainian troops in Donetsk and on the approaches to the strategic city of Kurakhovo in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the article also said. Ukraine’s military, plagued by severe lack of personnel, ammunition, and plummeting morale, has been retreating from Kurakhovo, which served as a critical logistical hub for Ukrainian defenses in the region.
Russia’s liberation of Kurakhovo would open the way towards the Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) rail hub and facilitate further gains.