Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that NATO membership must be based on Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders.

Speaking to UK broadcaster Sky News, Zelenskyy laid out his arguments for joining the transatlantic military alliance, arguing his country could not legally recognise occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian because it would be contrary to the constitution.

“You can’t give an invitation to just one part of a country. Why? Because you would recognise that that territory is part of Ukraine and the other is Russia. So legally, by law we have no right to recognise the occupied territory as territory of Russia. And here, we must not make any mistake,” he said.

Zelenskyy said that joining NATO would effectively and quickly help de-escalate the conflict allowing his country and Russia to negotiate diplomatically for the return of areas under Kremlin control.

Ukraine’s potential NATO membership has enraged the Kremlin and is one of the main reasons behind the Russian invasion.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has repeatedly railed against NATO expansion, calling it a violation of Russian security.

But the invasion of Ukraine prompted both Sweden and Finland, both historically non-aligned countries, to apply to join the alliance. Finland joined NATO in early 2023, and Sweden a year later.

Finland shares a more than 1,300km land border with Russia.

Zelenskyy’s comments to Sky come a day after Moscow launched another large-scale air attack on Ukraine.

Ukrainian authorities said nearly 200 drones and missiles targeted infrastructure, disrupting power supply to more than a million people.

Russia in previous years has targeted Ukraine’s electricity generation, aiming to deny civilians critical heating and drinking water supplies during the bitter winter months and break Ukrainian spirits.

The attacks also seek to hobble Ukraine’s defence industry that is now producing missiles, drones and armoured vehicles, among other military assets.

Right to self-defence

Meanwhile, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has said Russia has the right to defend itself against Ukrainian strikes using Western-supplied long-range weapons.

Kim’s remarks, reported by North Korean state wire service KCNA, were made to Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov who is in Pyongyang for talks with military and political leaders.

On Friday, Belousov met with his North Korean counterpart No Kwang Cho in what Belousov said was an effort to expand military cooperation between the two countries.

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The Russian defence chief also said that a strategic partnership agreement signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June is aimed at “stabilising” Northeast Asia.

“The agreement aims to reduce the risk of war, including nuclear weapons, and to make a positive contribution to maintaining the balance of power in the region,” Belousov said.

During his remarks, North Korea’s No said that Pyongyang would stand “on the common front with Russian comrades to safeguard international peace and security.”

Belousov’s visit came just days after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol met with a Ukrainian delegation led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov in the capital, Seoul.

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Yoon called for the two countries to formulate countermeasures against North Korea’s reported deployment of thousands of troops to Russia to support its war effort in Ukraine.

The United States and its allies have said North Korea has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia in recent weeks and that some of those troops were engaging in combat.

In recent months, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has prioritised relations with Russia as he tries to break out of isolation and strengthen his international footing, embracing the idea of a “new Cold War”.