Ukraine says it is 'de facto not de jure’ part of NATO because…
Russia-Ukraine War: Oleksiy Reznikov told BBC, "This concern about the next level of escalation, for me, is some kind of protocol."
Ukraine has effectively become a NATO member, the country's defence minister said, adding that Kyiv was confident that Western allies would supply Ukraine with heavier weapons amid Russian invasion.
Read more: Why are you fooling around: Watch Vladimir Putin scold his deputy over deals
Oleksiy Reznikov told BBC, "This concern about the next level of escalation, for me, is some kind of protocol." Dismissing NATO fears about provoking Russia, Ukraine defence minister said, “Ukraine as a country, and the armed forces of Ukraine, became (a) member of NATO.”
“De facto, not de jure (in law). Because we have weaponry, and the understanding of how to use it,” he added.
The comments come as Russia's defence ministry said that its forces had taken control of Soledar in eastern Ukraine. The capture of the town comes after it had been Moscow's focus of heavy fighting and bombardment, the ministry said, adding that it would now allow Russian troops to cut off Ukrainian forces from the nearby town of Bakhmut.
Read more: Russia says it has taken control of Ukraine's Soledar after months-long battle
Meanwhile, Ukraine earlier said that its forces were still holding out in Soledar after a "hot" night of fighting. Soledar marks Moscow's first big battlefield gain after half a year of humiliating retreats.
Russia-installed official in Donetsk, Andrey Baevsky said that there were still “small pockets of resistance” from Ukraine inside the city.
“At the moment, indeed, there are still separate small pockets of resistance in Soledar, [but] our guys continue to crush the enemy in these places,” Andrey Baevsky said.
“In general, the operation [has] developed successfully and the western outskirts of Soledar are already completely under our control,” he added.
