NATO could allow Ukraine to join the bloc without having to recapture territory it has lost to Russia, Czech President Petr Pavel has said.
Kiev formally applied to become a NATO member in September 2022, citing its conflict with Russia. The US-led bloc, however, has ruled out admitting Ukraine until the hostilities with Moscow are resolved. Instead, a series of NATO member states have opted for bilateral security pacts with Kiev. These agreements lack the power of Article 5 of the NATO Charter, which stipulates that an attack on one member must be treated as an attack on the bloc as a whole.