NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's words about Ukraine's prospects for joining the alliance demotivate the Ukrainian army, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in an interview with the BBC. He published a video of the interview on his Telegram channel, RBK reports. 

"Stoltenberg knows my position - it, as in any issue, is always absolutely direct and open. My position: I think it's to ditch our state and our military, it's to demotivate our army," Zelensky said. He urged not to knock the country's "foundation out from under its feet" because joining NATO is a motivation for Ukraine.

In June, Stoltenberg said Ukraine would not receive an invitation to the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12. Nevertheless, they are ready to discuss how to "bring Ukraine closer to NATO," Stoltenberg added. He stressed that all member states of the bloc agreed that Ukraine would become a member of the alliance.

Zelenski said Ukraine would like to hear at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July "something more" than the alliance's "open doors," even though the country understands it cannot join NATO while hostilities continue. The Ukrainian leader applied to join the alliance in September 2022. A new country would need the consent of all members to join the bloc.