Summary
- Ukraine seeks fast-track membership of NATO
- Russia has sought to prevent Ukraine joining alliance
- Zelenskiy rules out talks with Putin
KYIV, Sept 30 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced a surprise bid for fast-track membership of the NATO military alliance on Friday and ruled out talks with President Vladimir Putin, striking back at Moscow after it said it had annexed four Ukrainian regions.
Zelenskiy signed the NATO application papers in an online video clearly intended as a forceful rebuttal to the Kremlin after Putin held a ceremony in Moscow to proclaim the four partially occupied regions as annexed Russian land.
“We are taking our decisive step by signing Ukraine’s application for accelerated accession to NATO,” Zelenskiy said in the video on the Telegram app.
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