Ukraine's former top commander Zaluzhnyi says the country has no prospect of joining NATO

Aug 3, 2026

Ukraine's former military commander and current UK Ambassador Valerii Zaluzhnyi stated that Ukraine has no prospect of joining NATO, citing a mismatch with the alliance's World War II doctrines. This assessment comes amid intense military exchanges, including Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian warehouses and a Black Sea resort that killed 11 people, alongside Russian glide bomb attacks in Zaporizhzhia. Meanwhile, Iran cancelled planned retaliatory strikes on Ukraine following an apology from Kyiv.

Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia

▪Russian forces brought down or destroyed 320 Ukrainian drones overnight on August 3, 2026, across 19 different regions.
▪Ukrainian drone attacks on a Black Sea resort in Arkhipo-Osipovka and the annexed Crimea peninsula killed 11 people on August 3, 2026.

Russian glide bomb attacks

▪Russian planes dropped eight powerful glide bombs over a span of 90 minutes on residential districts of Zaporizhzhia on August 3, 2026.
▪A Russian attack near Kryvyi Rig killed three people, including an eight-year-old child, at a service station on August 3, 2026.

Civilian casualties in attacks

▪A Ukrainian drone strike on a beach in Arkhipo-Osipovka killed seven people, including three children, and injured 40 others on August 3, 2026.
▪A Russian aerial bombing on residential districts in Zaporizhzhia killed one person and injured dozens on August 3, 2026.

Warehouse fires from drones

▪Ukrainian drone attacks on the Moscow region killed five people and injured six others, causing a warehouse fire in the Chekhov municipal district on August 4, 2026.
▪A Ukrainian drone attack on a warehouse run by Russian online retailer Wildberries in Russia's Tver region caused damage on August 4, 2026.

Zaluzhnyi on NATO membership

▪Valerii Zaluzhnyi argued that the Armed Forces of Ukraine cannot join NATO because the alliance is guided by World War II doctrines.
▪Valerii Zaluzhnyi stated that Ukraine has no prospect of joining NATO because its armed forces do not meet the alliance's military standards.

Iran cancels Ukraine strikes

▪Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi had previously vowed that the Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea would not go unanswered.
▪The Iranian military cancelled planned strikes on three sites in Ukraine after receiving an apology from Kyiv regarding a late July attack on an Iranian commercial vessel.