Will Ukraine push for NATO membership in 2025 - Government insights

"We will do this earlier because on October 1st, the new NATO Secretary General takes office, and his first visit to Ukraine will undoubtedly be dedicated to a political decision," she said.

Stefanishyna pointed out that after a country is invited to NATO, the protocols of accession are ratified. This requires 32 decisions by each country's parliaments, governments, or presidents. "We saw this process in Sweden and Finland. Finland went through it instantaneously – this is the so-called Finnish miracle – but Sweden had to implement a number of very difficult decisions on its path to this ratification, and these were not only related to changes in legislation," the Deputy Prime Minister explained.

According to her, an invitation is a serious commitment to discussing the future. "And, of course, we will not remove this issue from the agenda, and as the President says, it will remain on the agenda for as long as necessary to make a decision," she said.

However, the invitation is also a decision that can be made at any time, regardless of the summit, Stefanishyna added.

"Ukraine's NATO membership issue will not be removed from the agenda because the allies have determined this path is irreversible. The issue of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations has always been on the agenda at all meetings at all levels with colleagues from the USA, and this will not change on the Ukrainian side. I believe that the issue of inviting Ukraine to NATO is, in itself, an element of deterring Russian aggression," the Deputy Prime Minister said.

It should be noted that two-thirds of Ukrainians (64%) consider joining the European Union and NATO equally important for the country. At the same time, 7% prioritize Ukraine's European integration, and 12% say that NATO membership is more important at the moment. Ukraine has not yet received an invitation to join NATO.