Representatives of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre (JATEC) joined the final phase of LOYAL DOLOS 2025 exercises. This is the first time Ukrainian specialists have been directly involved in working out the Alliance’s mechanisms of collective defense under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced this on December 28.
The exercise scenario was built on the experience gained during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. This approach allowed Alliance units to be prepared to conduct dynamic combat operations in modern conditions.
About 1,500 service members and civilian experts from various locations across Europe participated in the events. The command group operated at the Joint Center for Training of Allied Forces in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz.
The Senior National Representative of Ukraine at JATEC, Colonel Valeriy Vyshnivskyi, emphasized the importance of this event for Ukraine’s integration into the system of collective security.
“Participation in LOYAL DOLOS 2025 is of strategic importance, as for the first time Ukrainian representatives were involved in working out the Alliance’s collective security mechanisms. This contributed to Ukraine’s recognition as one of the most experienced participants in the regional security system.”
– Valeriy Vyshnivskyi
Context and the role of Ukrainian experts in the exercises
The training became one of the key subprojects of NATO’s training program this year. They tested the Alliance’s combat capabilities, including the readiness of one of the rapid-deployment corps to carry out missions.
Special attention was paid to multi-domain and land operations – practicing interoperability across several domains simultaneously and integrating ground units with other domains in line with NATO’s new adaptive forces strategy.
According to the General Staff, Ukraine’s participation in such events confirms that Ukraine is effectively becoming part of NATO’s collective defense architecture even before its official accession.
Prospects for Ukraine’s accession to NATO: history and the present
On September 30, 2022, Ukraine submitted an accelerated application to join NATO. The corresponding procedure provides for joining the Alliance without a MAP.
In NATO itself at the time it was stated that Ukraine’s accession depended on the agreement of all 30 allies. The leaders of several Central and Eastern European countries officially supported Ukraine’s membership in NATO.
Following the summit of July 11–12, 2023 in Vilnius, NATO members approved a three-part package to bring Ukraine closer to the Alliance, but rejected the Membership Action Plan (MAP). Kyiv returned from the summit with security assurances on the path to membership. As of 2025, NATO members opposing Ukraine’s membership include Hungary, which blocks moves to bring Kyiv closer to the Alliance. The United States and Germany do not oppose supporting Ukraine, but publicly have not stated consent for full membership at this stage. Slovakia also expressed skepticism about membership prospects.