Bild: Germany, US to block Ukraine's bid to join NATO

Germany and the United States intend to block Ukraine's application for membership in the North Atlantic Alliance at its summit, which begins in Vilnius on July 11.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to formally request Ukraine's entry into NATO at the summit, Bild reports, citing sources.

"I can confirm that the US and Germany are blocking Ukraine's formal application for NATO membership," an unnamed senior source from one of the countries told the publication.

According to him, Berlin and Washington are also putting pressure on other NATO members to reject Kyiv's application.

According to another source of the publication, Germany and the United States are lobbying for the signing in Lithuania of "a final declaration, which will hardly go beyond the agreement concluded in 2008 in Bucharest." The document says that the alliance "welcomes the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of Ukraine and Georgia for NATO membership."

According to Bild, Ukraine's accession to NATO, "at least in the long term," is approved by the Baltic states and Poland, as well as Bulgaria, Romania, Sweden, Türkiye and France.

The publication claims that “representatives of different positions agreed on secret telephone conversations and even sent diplomats to achieve a common position by Tuesday morning” of the bloc.

"In the worst case, the heads of government will have to do it themselves on Tuesday," an unnamed diplomat said. He added that "heated negotiations are underway to prevent this," but it is also expected that "Ukraine will not leave empty-handed."