Zelenskyy explains the steps Ukraine will take if not accepted into NATO

Ukraine would need to increase its army from 1 million to 1.5 million if NATO membership is not granted.

This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a conversation with journalists at the Munich Security Conference.

"We are ready to talk about everything to stop Putin: Ukraine's accession to NATO, NATO's presence in Ukraine, security guarantees. Today's America and Trump are not ready to discuss the Alliance. They openly say this. They believe Ukraine cannot be in NATO because it would escalate the situation. They see it as the main factor behind the occupation of Ukraine," he added.

"This will be an army of 1.5 million. And today our army, which is not half as large as 1.5 million, but the combat brigades are about half as large. They have 220, we currently have 110 combat brigades. So, we need 220. If today, the budget subsidy is $40 billion, and you need to increase it by at least one and a half times – $60 billion per year," Zelenskyy explained.

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