- Putin suggested if Ukraine joined NATO it could trigger a war between Russia and the alliance.
- Ukraine is not a NATO member, but it has close ties with the alliance and has sought to join for years.
- Though Kyiv wants to join NATO, the alliance is in no rush to accept it as a member.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday warned that if Ukraine were to ever join NATO, it could trigger a war between Russia and the alliance.
Putin suggested that Kyiv would attempt to use force to regain control of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, if Ukraine became a NATO member.
"Imagine that Ukraine becomes a NATO member and launches those military operations," Putin said during a press conference at the Kremlin with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
He added: "Should we fight NATO then? Has anyone thought about it?"
Ukraine has sought to join NATO for years, but the alliance has tiptoed around the issue and there are no signs it will be accepted in the near future. In June, for example, President Joe Biden told reporters that "school is out on that question" when asked if NATO would take steps to admit Ukraine to the alliance. Simply put, Russia's suggestion that Ukraine joining NATO is an imminent possibility is highly misleading.
Putin's comments on Tuesday came as Russia has sparked fears of an invasion by gathering roughly 100,000 troops on Ukraine's border. The Kremlin claims it has no plans to invade, but Western leaders are skeptical.
On Monday, Russia accused the US of overhyping the prospect of an invasion of Ukraine, despite a tremendous build-up of Russian troops along its border with Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, annexing Crimea in the process. And since that year, the Kremlin has backed rebels in a war against Ukrainian troops in the eastern Donbass region. The conflict has killed over 13,000 people.
Given Ukraine is not a NATO member, the US has ruled out sending in troops to defend it if Russia invades. NATO operates under the principle of collective defense, and considers an attack on one member an attack on all. This principle is enshrined in Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty.
But Biden on Friday said he'd be "moving US troops to Eastern Europe and the NATO countries in the near term." The US previously put 8,500 troops on high alert for a possible deployment to the region amid the Russia-Ukraine tensions.
Diplomatic efforts to prevent a broader conflict have so far failed to produce significant results. Russia has made demands for binding security guarantees from the West, including barring Ukraine from ever joining NATO. But the alliance and Washington have remained firm that NATO's open door policy is not up for discussion. NATO and the US recently delivered written responses to Russia's demands.
Putin on Tuesday said that Russia's concerns were "ignored" by the US and its allies.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.