Volodymyr Zelensky’s announcement that he is to “accelerate” his country’s bid to join Nato was understandable as a swift and symbolic response to Vladimir Putin’s grandstand proclamation in Moscow that another four parts of Ukraine now “belong” to Russia.
To merely refute Putin’s claim, which rests on the supposed result of a sham referendum process, would have felt insufficient.
To a great extent, of course, Ukraine is being regarded by Western allies as if it is already a member; it is receiving as much military backing in the form of intelligence, training, equipment and finance as it might expect to receive if it was already part of the alliance, the difference being the absence of direct military involvement such as airstrikes or “boots on the ground”.
