NATO Agrees Ukraine Will Become a Member

All NATO members have agreed that Ukraine will eventually join the military alliance, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced Friday.

Stoltenberg's statement to reporters came ahead of the 11th meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Group at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. However, Stoltenberg fell short of offering a timeline on when Ukraine could become a member of NATO and said the main focus now is to ensure the country prevails in the ongoing war with Russia.

In September 2022, Ukraine announced a bid for fast-track membership of NATO after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had annexed four Ukrainian regions partially controlled by Russia.

Ukraine must have "the deterrence to prevent new attacks" once the conflict ends, Stoltenberg told reporters.

His remarks come after he visited Kyiv on Thursday for the first time since Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and as Ukraine is expected to soon launch a counteroffensive aimed at recapturing territory seized by Russian forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the visit by the Stoltenberg as a "new chapter" in relations with NATO.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.