There is one huge difference between NATO membership and the bilateral defense agreements Ukraine has signed, Politico reported.
This is Article Five, or the so-called “one for all and all for one” clause. It is around this member that the entire alliance is built.
Ukraine has already signed 20 bilateral security agreements with its allies. These include specific provisions for long-term military and financial aid and training for Ukrainian troops, as well as arms supplies, but not sending foreign soldiers to the front in Ukraine. But these agreements are significantly weaker than what NATO allies receive.
According to Article Five of the NATO Treaty, an attack on a member is considered an attack on all. It obliges NATO countries to provide support, including troops, to defend their ally. The NATO guarantee is a treaty, which means that countries have ratified it and its provisions are law.
The agreements with Ukraine offer no such protection. The accords do not commit that Kiev's allies will send troops to help. They are also not treaties, so they are not binding on the governments that sign them. For example, Donald Trump or Marine Le Pen, if they get power, they can ignore them.
Ukraine has long called on its NATO partners to give a specific date for the country to join the alliance, but this is almost impossible to happen while there is a war on Ukrainian soil.