Why the New NATO-Ukraine Defense Council Falls Short

The formation of the NATO-Ukraine Council “does give Ukraine a bit more of a seat at the table,” says Emily Ferris, a research fellow who leads the Russia program at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank in London. What remains to be seen, however, is what Ukraine stands to gain from this new access. Should the council’s creation come with additional perks—such as waiving the requirement for an extensive “membership action plan,” as NATO did for Finland and Sweden—Kyiv could see the move as a major win. (On Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that NATO countries had reached a consensus to remove the MAP requirement.) Absent similar measures that demonstrate Ukraine’s future in NATO, Ferris says, “it also has the potential to be seen in Kyiv as a foot-dragging exercise.”