Russia-Ukraine war Day 14: Volodymyr Zelenskyy says no longer interested in NATO membership

Today is Day 14 of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, after which Russian troops invaded their neighbouring country, which was part of the former Soviet Union.

The main reason behind the war imposed by Russia is being told that Ukraine's closeness with NATO countries and the possibility of it also joining this military alliance. However, now the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he is not pushing much to become a member of NATO.

Indicating peace with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready to negotiate the status of the two separate pro-Russian regions Donetsk and Luhansk, which Russian President Vladimir Putin had recognised as independent. On February 24, Russia recognised them as independent territory just before launching the attack.

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"I have cooled down regarding this question a long time ago after we understood that ... NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in a televised interview. "The alliance is afraid of controversial things, and confrontation with Russia."

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine did not want to be a 'country that is begging something on its knees' and he 'did not want to be that President'. Russia has long been against the idea of Ukraine's proposed NATO membership. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation or NATO was formed during the cold-war era in order to check the dominance of the erstwhile Soviet Union in Europe.

Meanwhile, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) has suspended the observer status of Russia. On the other hand, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the UK Parliament that Russia should be recognised as a 'terrorist country'.