Ukraine Wants to Join NATO

for obvious reasons

Ukraine said on Friday it would seek the protection of NATO membership after what Kiev and its Western allies say is the open participation of the Russian military in the war in Ukraine's eastern provinces.

Formal Ukrainian membership in the Western military alliance, which would come with the full protection of a mutual defence pact with the U.S. superpower, remains an unlikely prospect, at least in the near future.

But by announcing that it is seeking it, Kiev is taking its most decisive step yet to pursue Western military protection from what it now describes as an invasion by its neighbour.