In 2021, Hungary blocked Ukraine's application to join the NATO cyber center in Tallinn The flag of Ukraine was raised near the NATO Cooperation Center for Improving Cyber Defense in Tallinn.
Ukraine is currently listed as a partner on the organization's website. Kiev applied for membership back in 2021, but Hungary then used the right of veto.
Ukraine has announced its accession to the NATO Cyber Defense Improvement Cooperation Center (CCDCOE). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine writes about this on Twitter.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed gratitude to the NATO countries for the offer to join the cooperation center, as well as to the Estonian authorities "for their support and assistance on the way to NATO CCDCOE." According to RBC, Ukraine is still listed on the organization's website among CCDCOE partner countries.
The NATO Cyber Center was established in 2008 to expand the "exchange of information and cooperation" between alliance members and their partners. In particular, CCDCOE conducts cybersecurity exercises and prepares instructions "for activities in this area."
Back in 2021, Ukraine applied to join the NATO cyber center, but then Hungary - according to the publication "European Truth" - blocked the Ukrainian application.
On May 15, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, during the Copenhagen Democracy Summit-2023, called for a positive decision on Ukraine's application to join NATO at the alliance summit in July.
Earlier, The Washington Post wrote that NATO countries decided not to send Ukraine an invitation to become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance at the Vilnius summit, which will be held in July.
According to the publication, Eastern European countries want to see concrete steps for Ukraine's accession to the alliance, including specific deadlines. At the same time, the United States and a number of Western European countries advocate only small steps in this direction.
Soon, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed the opinion that the countries of the organization at the summit in Vilnius on July 11-12 will declare support for Ukraine's accession to the alliance.
At the same time, the head of the Verkhovna Rada's permanent delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Yegor Chernev, expressed the opinion that Ukraine could receive an invitation to NATO with specific dates at the summit in Washington in 2024, and not in Vilnius in 2023.
At the same time, Chernev hopes that Kiev will be able to receive "security guarantees" in Vilnius. "Security guarantees until the time when we become full-fledged members of NATO. This, I think, is the maximum we can get at the Vilnius summit today," he said.
According to him, Kiev wants to receive "assurances" from Western countries about joining NATO after the end of the armed conflict.
Peter Nikolaev