287 NATO standards were introduced in the Ukrainian army. This is almost a quarter of the total of more than 1,200 standards. Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told about this in an interview with Ukrinform.
Of these 287 standards:
- 174 — within the framework of the Ukraine-NATO partnership goals (primary standards of the Alliance);
- 113 — proactive.
Oleksiy Reznikov explained that according to the latest indicator, Ukraine ranks first among NATO partner states and even exceeds the indicators of some member states.
By the end of 2023, about 200 more standards have been adopted and are planned to be implemented. However, there are certain standards that Ukraine does not need to implement. For example, the standard for the quality of drinking water for the provision of troops is higher in Ukraine compared to NATO countries.
In general, according to Reznikov, it is not necessary to implement all more than 1,200 standards for NATO membership. On average, the member states of the Alliance have implemented approximately 30%. For example, if it is not a maritime state, then it should not have naval standards. If there are no space forces, then there are no space-related standards.
The Minister explained that three factors will be decisive when making a decision to invite or not to invite Ukraine to NATO:
- existence of democratic civilian control over the Armed Forces, that is, the Minister of Defense and the Deputy Minister are civilians;
- clear and transparent procedures for providing the Defense Forces — when it is clear how funds are spent, how the budget is planned;
- joint planning of operations.
On July 11, at the NATO summit, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine will receive an invitation to NATO when all allies agree and the conditions are met. First of all, these are the fight against corruption, reforms to modernize public administration institutions (including the security and defense sector), compatibility with NATO standards, and the end of the war. In addition, the Alliance canceled the MAP for Ukraine. Instead, the countries of the "Big Seven" and the countries of Northern Europe declared their readiness to provide security guarantees for Ukraine. More about them here. Already 24 NATO countries have supported Ukraineʼs membership.