Ukraine edges closer to Nato

The Ukrainian parliament has renounced Ukraine’s “non-aligned” status with the aim of eventually joining NATO, angering Moscow which views the Western alliance’s eastward expansion as a threat to its own security.

Kiev first announced its intention of seeking the protection of NATO membership in August following what it deemed the open participation of Russia’s military in a separatist war in Ukraine’s eastern provinces.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Ukraine’s renunciation of its neutral military and political status a “counterproductive” step that would only boost tensions around the crisis in the east.