“Ukraine is not a member of NATO. We understand that. We have heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we could not join. It’s a truth and it must be recognized,” Zelensky says during a call with the country’s military leaders.
Russia used the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, a US-led military alliance, as a justification for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. On 24 February 2022, Russia began a military invasion of Ukraine, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict that had begun in 2014.
It is the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II.The invasion has caused the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II with over three millions of people displaced.
