White House: Neither US nor NATO ready to enter war with Russia

The White House says granting NATO membership to Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict will inevitably drag the United States and the military alliance into war with Russia, a scenario for which neither party is prepared.

In an ABC News interview on Sunday, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Ukraine's future is in NATO and that this is not a “negotiable” issue. However, he warned, if the ex-Soviet republic is added to the military bloc while the conflict continues, it will mean that the US is at war with Russia.

"If Ukraine joins NATO while the war is going on, it will mean that NATO is at war with Russia, and this will mean that the United States is at war with Russia. And neither NATO nor the United States were ready for this."

Sullivan said NATO is committed to accept Ukraine into its ranks despite the lack of a formal invitation or timeline for membership but certain conditions must be met before Kiev can join the US-led military alliance. The US official, however, said Washington's support for Kiev against Moscow will continue.

NATO's Article 5 stipulates that an attack on one member is an attack on all, which means that if Ukraine is added to the bloc while it is still at war, all NATO members must enter a full-fledge and direct war with Russia. That is not the bloc's intention at present.

In September 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky formally applied for a fast-track NATO membership and ruled out talks with President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly warned Ukraine against its NATO membership proposals, calling the move “purely destabilizing.” Russia has also warned the alliance against its further expansion toward its borders.

During a recent NATO summit held in Vilnius, Lithuania, all 31 member states of the alliance expressed commitment to eventually accept Ukraine into the bloc once the current war is over.

"Ukraine’s future is in NATO. We meant it. That’s not up for negotiation. That’s something that now all 31 allies have committed to," Sullivan said, referring to the final statement released at the end of the summit.

Ukraine insists it has already met all of the requirements to join NATO.

"When will those conditions be met? What are those conditions? Who should formulate them? What are they?" said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba last week.

G7 offers Ukraine wide-ranging security package at NATO summit

G7 countries have offered Ukraine a long-term security package at the NATO summit as Kiev strives to join the military bloc.

NATO has so far pointedly refrained from giving military assistance to Ukraine as an organization. Nevertheless, Ukraine has so far managed to reap rewards in the form of current and long-term security commitments it has lobbied for.

The war in Ukraine began after President Putin ordered the launch of a "special military operation" in the ex-Soviet republic on February 24, 2022 to “demilitarize” two eastern Ukrainian regions amid Kiev's vaulting ambitions to join NATO, which Moscow deems a redline.

By January, the US and its allies had provided Ukraine with over 100 million rounds of small arms ammunition, over a million rounds of artillery shells, and more than 100,000 tank rounds.

Russia sees the flooding of Ukraine with weapons from the West as a futile effort to change the outcome of the war. Moscow says supplying Kiev with more weapons will only add to the death and destruction and prolong the conflict. 

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