Ukraine's defence minister says the country is a de facto member of the NATO alliance.
Ukraine has become a de facto member of the Nato alliance, according to Ukraine's defence minister, as Western countries shift their "thinking style" after being afraid that military support could be interpreted as an escalation by Russia.
Oleksii Reznikov told the BBC that he was confident Ukraine would receive long-desired armaments, such as tanks and fighter jets, as both Ukraine and Russia appeared to be preparing for new offensives in the spring.
"For me, this fear about the next degree of escalation is some type of procedure," Mr Reznikov explained.
"Ukraine as a country and its military forces became members of Nato. Not de jure, but de facto (by law). Because we have weapons and understand how to use them."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has justified his invasion of Ukraine as an existential struggle against Western countries seeking to harm Russia.
Russian officials have claimed that they are battling NATO in Ukraine because the West has provided the country with weaponry in what they describe as an aggressive war.
For years, Ukraine has desired to join the military alliance of the United States, Canada, and 28 European countries, which President Vladimir Putin has portrayed as a security threat to Russia.
Despite vows of support, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed for fast-track entrance, but it is uncertain whether full membership is something the alliance members will really contemplate even when the war is done.
According to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, any armed attack on any member is considered an attack on all.
Mr Reznikov, on the other hand, disagreed that his remarks would be viewed as contentious, not only by Russia but also by Nato, which has taken pains to avoid being perceived as a party to the fight.
"Why would it be contentious? That is correct. It is a reality "Reznikov stated. "I'm confident that we'll become de jure members of Nato in the near future."
Soledad, a small village in the eastern Donetsk region, has witnessed some of the war's most violent fighting.
The defence minister spoke in Kyiv as Ukrainian and Russian soldiers fought over the small town of Solar in the eastern Donetsk area, in some of the worst battles of the almost 11-month-old conflict.
The Russian offensive is led by the mercenary Wagner Group, whose founder, long-time Putin supporter Yevgeny Prigozhin, has become a vociferous critic of Russia's army's performance in Ukraine.
Mr Prigozhin claimed on Tuesday that his fighters had taken control of the town, an allegation that was disputed by Ukraine and, surprisingly, by the Kremlin, in what was seen as a setback to Mr Prigozhin.
The situation at Soledar was "extremely challenging," but "under control," according to Mr Reznikov. He claimed that Wagner fighters were employed in "wave after wave after wave" of attacks, resulting in a great number of casualties and that Mr Prigozhin was interested in the potential economic benefits of taking the town, which is home to Europe's largest salt mines.
"They'll make money off of blood," he predicted.
Solar lies around 10 kilometres (six miles) from Bakhmut, a crucial city where Ukrainian and Russian soldiers have been engaged in a months-long battle that has resulted in massive devastation and significant losses on both sides. Wagner mercenaries have also been deployed in considerable numbers there, and Mr Prigozhin is thought to have made Bakhmut's capture a personal objective.
The organisation, Mr Reznikov added, "need to give some type of proof to declare they're better than the normal military forces of the Russian Federation". If taken, Bakhmut might clear the way for a Russian advance into Kramatorsk and Slovyansk, two Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk, a region that President Putin has targeted.
The map depicts control zones in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
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Any gains would be extremely symbolic for Russia more than anything else. They would follow a series of humiliating failures, including a chaotic retreat from Kharkiv's north-eastern sector and a pullback from Kherson, the only provincial capital Russian forces had secured during the conflict.
Meanwhile, Ukraine needed time to regroup and re-arm while waiting for Western supplies to arrive. "Spring is the perfect time to revitalise the movement on all fronts," he says. "We know they'll be ready to go, and we have to be ready to go as well."
He did not, however, repeat a claim that Russia was preparing another assault through Belarus, a warning denied by the head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency. The movement from the north, Mr Reznikov said, "would take a lot of time and they [Russia] have no resources".
Mr Reznikov spoke a day after Russia's defence minister removed the head of its forces in Ukraine, an unexpected move regarded as an indication of a power struggle. Gen Valery Gerasimov, one of the architects of last year's invasion, will take over for Gen Sergei Surovikin, who was appointed in October.
The move was brought about by a "conflict between Mr Prigozhin and the Russian Federation's armed forces," according to Mr Reznikov. Gen Surovikin directed the recent harsh attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure that, according to Mr Reznikov, "reduced the [Russian missile] supplies without any effects", reiterating a Ukrainian assertion that "they're running out of missiles".
Mr Reznikov said he was confident Ukraine will receive "tanks, fighting aircraft or planes, and long-range armament to destroy targets in 300km (186 miles) as well," after Poland and Britain disclosed intentions to deliver battle tanks for the first time.
He rejected fears that the disclosures would spark Russian retaliation, despite Moscow's now-familiar threats. "My country is at war," he explained. "They're targeting my cities, hospitals, kindergartens, and schools. They murdered a large number of civilians. They are a gang of rapists, killers, and robbers. What is the next escalation level?"
Mohamed Madi, Hanna Tsyba, and Robbie Wright contributed reporting.
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