Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described his country's armed forces as effectively "NATO's second-strongest army."
Zelensky told journalists that "NATO needs us," the Hromadske website reported on Friday.
He added that this was already a fact recognized by all the NATO heads of state.
Zelensky said the Ukrainian military was proving more than a match for the Russian armed forces, widely regarded as the world's second-most powerful military, in defending against Moscow's invasion.
Ukraine is not a member of NATO, whose strongest military is that of the United States. One of Moscow’s stated war aims is to prevent Kiev’s accession to the Western military alliance, as envisaged in the Ukrainian constitution.
Since the US attempted to mediate, Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO have been put on hold.
Zelensky claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would remain in the Kremlin until his death, with the aim of restoring the Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991.
"Without Ukraine, that is impossible, and that is why it is so difficult for us, dear Ukrainians," he said.
