KYIV, Dec 17 – Ukraine called on the U.S. to support the country’s plan to join NATO so that Ukraine will become one of the U.S.’s key allies in the region, Olha Stefanishyna, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, said.

"We count on the United States' support for Ukraine to finally become a NATO member,” Stefanishyna said. “It would be very important for Ukraine to have a clear signal that the Alliance is ready to move together with Ukraine towards future membership. This has significantly accelerated internal transformations in our country, without this signal we remain in a threatening security vacuum, and this is like an invitation to Russia for even greater aggression."