MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/. The Kiev regime has made its choice to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, so the country’s "NATOfication" is one of the main priorities of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian top military official Rustem Umerov said following a meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Kiev.

"Ukraine have chosen ITS path: to become a NATO member. So, NATOfication is one of the MoD’s main priorities," he wrote on the X social media platform (formerly Twitter). Umerov added that he had discussed "Ukraine's current and future (capabilities) on the battlefield and how the US & allies can help fulfill them."

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has repeatedly asserted that the time was ripe for his country’s accession to NATO. He signed a fast-track NATO membership bid in late September. Later, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said that Ukraine could not join NATO as long as the military conflict was underway on its territory. Nevertheless, the Kiev regime had been hoping for an invitation to join the alliance at its Vilnius summit in July which failed to make a specific decision on the timeframe of Ukraine’s accession.