The mutual-defense alliance has been central to Ukraine’s war against Russia, but the future is uncertain with President Trump back in office.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday the U.S. did not want Ukraine to join NATO even before the Trump administration began changing the country’s approach toward the

"Right now, that is still on the table," said John Coale, President Donald Trump's deputy Ukraine envoy, when asked whether the U.S. had ruled out possible NATO membership for Ukraine. Speaking in an interview with Reuters in Munich,

The United States has never seen Ukraine as a NATO member and has never wanted the country in the alliance. This is not just President Donald Trump's position but US policy in general, stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the Munich Security Conference.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that the US had never seen Ukraine as a NATO member, following the latest statements from Washington that Kiev joining the defence alliance would be "unrealistic.