Ex-commander says Kyiv won’t join NATO, even as war stalls

Ukraine’s former top commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi, now Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, says Kyiv will never join NATO, arguing Ukraine cannot meet the alliance’s military standards. The piece notes July frontlines were largely static with minimal Russian gains, ongoing Ukrainian strikes deep into Russia and occupied territory, a leadership shake-up including the dismissal of Stefanishyna as ambassador to the US, and Kyiv’s push for more Patriot air defense missiles amid continued fighting and drone incidents in Crimea and elsewhere.