--- description: The country's status is no longer "non-aligned" title: Ukraine Votes to Drop Non-Aligned Status, Inches Closer to NATO image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt206390364e8085f0/6987709d06f2c1d2f033311d/ukraine-parliament.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ukraine Inches Closer to NATO in Important Vote by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 23, 2014 2:35 PM CUT  Deputies of Ukrainian Parliament vote for a bill dropping Ukraine's non-aligned status in Kiev on December 23, 2014. Deputies of Ukrainian Parliament vote for a bill dropping Ukraine's non-aligned status in Kiev on December 23, 2014.Genya Savilov—AFP/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 23, 2014 2:35 PM CUT Ukraine [took a major step](https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ukraine-parliament-takes-historic-step-toward-nato-102848315.html#ifa7qRg "undefined") on Tuesday in a parliamentary vote to drop its “non-aligned” status, which made the country ineligible to participate in military alliances and war—a status more famously upheld by Switzerland. As a result, Ukraine’s government could now apply to join NATO. The move has angered the Russian government, which pressured Ukraine into adopting neutrality in 2010 and has said that the country must remain out of any bloc as a condition of peace in eastern Ukraine, where 4,700 have died in a pro-Russian uprising in the past eight months. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev took a strong stance against the vote, saying that an application to join NATO would “turn Ukraine into a potential military opponent for Russia,” and warned that the vote—as well as new sanctions against Russia signed by the U.S.—will both have “very negative consequences.” \[[_AFP_](https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ukraine-parliament-takes-historic-step-toward-nato-102848315.html#ifa7qRg "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3645379/ukraine-nato-membership/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3645379/ukraine-nato-membership/"},"headline":"Ukraine Inches Closer to NATO in Important Vote","datePublished":"2014-12-23T14:35:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:05:51.644Z","description":"The country's status is no longer \"non-aligned\"","url":"https://time.com/3645379/ukraine-nato-membership/","keywords":["Ukraine","russia","NATO"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt206390364e8085f0/6987709d06f2c1d2f033311d/ukraine-parliament.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt206390364e8085f0/6987709d06f2c1d2f033311d/ukraine-parliament.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CRISIS","caption":"UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CRISIS","creditText":"Genya Savilov—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3645379/ukraine-nato-membership/","name":"Ukraine Inches Closer to NATO in Important Vote"}}]}] ```