A Foot in the NATO Door? Ukraine Moves from Security Taker to Security Maker
As NATO leaders convened in Ankara, the alliance recognized Ukraine’s transformation from a dependent buffer state into a contributor to transatlantic security. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha highlighted this shift during a panel discussion, emphasizing that Ukraine is now a “Guarantor of
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As NATO leaders gathered in Ankara for their annual summit, on the meeting’s sidelines Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, attended a panel discussion on how Ukraine was now a “Guarantor of European Security”.
In its declaration released at the end of the summit on Wednesday, the alliance said: “Ukraine contributes to transatlantic security, and Allies stand united in our unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its freedom, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”
This was explicit recognition that Ukraine is now embedded in Europe’s security framework, and is, as Sybiha said at the discussion, a “provider of security and a reliable partner that contributes to strengthening security”.
“Ukraine,” he added, “no longer merely needs protection.”
This reflects a remarkable transition. When the Russian army launched its massive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the country was expected, even by some of the wisest of military experts, to fold, but it didn’t.
Ukraine fought on, bolstered by Western military support that helped it first check the Russian advance, and then helped it drive the Russian troops backwards. Ukraine has since fought off successive Russian offensives, leaving the war pretty much deadlocked.
War in Ukraine - Latest update, key takeaways and map from the Institute for the Study of War on July 11, 2026
For much of this period Ukraine was seen as a drain on Western security resources. It was in the West’s interests to help Ukraine, so the aid flowed but it was one-way traffic. Militarily, Ukraine absorbed all that was given but, other than acting out a rather unfortunate role as buffer state between Russia and the West, it had nothing to give in return.
‘No cards to play’
Ukraine was, and still is, fighting for a just cause – its existence. But it had no assets it could use as leverage, and in the heartless world of international politics just having right on your side does not always translate into the level of support you feel you deserve.
This situation was exposed during US President Donald Trump’s brutal Oval-Office savaging of President Volodymyr Zelensky early last year when he said Ukraine had “no cards to play”. It also, no doubt, contributed to Trump’s decision to cut financial and military support for Ukraine.
In his transactional world, the US was giving but getting nothing in return, so why should it keep on giving?
Turning the tables
But now, as the Ankara summit declaration shows, Ukraine is seen as an asset that contributes to Western security; the traffic is now flowing in both directions, and this comes from remarkable shifts in the way the war is being waged.
Making true on the old saying “necessity is the mother of invention”, Ukraine has forged ahead at breathtaking speed in the development of drone and missile technology.
It possesses drone systems – both offensive and defensive – far more numerous, advanced and capable than those in Western inventories. In addition, it has developed an agile eco-system of arms development and production far removed from the moribund and bureaucratic systems that often prevail in the West.
Other products of this eco-system are the missiles and long-range drones Ukraine is now using to pound Russia’s energy infrastructure and logistics in an air campaign that some claim has shifted the balance in the war, at least for the time being, in Ukraine’s favor.
It has also caught the attention of Trump, showing him clearly that Kyiv now has cards to play.
All this has given Ukraine remarkable leverage.
This was made clear in the early stages of the Iran-US/Israel war when expensive US-made air-defense systems struggled to cope with the numerous drones Iran launched at targets. What was needed, Ukraine was quick to point out, were the low-cost and battle-proven anti-drone systems it possesses.
One foot in the door
Also, the potency of Ukraine’s missiles, and the speed with which they went from blueprint to refinery busting, will not be lost on military commanders in the West given their own armed forces’ shortcomings in this area. The West has missiles, but it lacks the numbers and variety that Ukraine possesses so why not ask Kyiv for help?
This need for Ukraine’s weapons technology and know-how has already resulted in numerous deals between Western and Ukrainian companies. These deals embed Ukraine into the West’s military architecture far more firmly than any political declaration can. Instead of words, technology and money are exchanged, and weapons are produced. And it’s weapons, not words, that win wars.
Ukraine’s new-found leverage and the deals could open up the possibility of a sort of backdoor membership of NATO. While Kyiv desires full membership of the alliance, it is aware, as are its supporters, that this remains a distant possibility owing to opposition from within NATO itself.
But by supplying war-winning technology and making itself a “contributor to transatlantic security”, Ukraine has already got one foot in NATO. Given that trying to get full membership would require a massive and possibly fruitless diplomatic effort, one foot is maybe better than two.
