NATO should and could do more to support Ukraine in the war against Russia, said an officer of the Special Operations Forces of the US Army, Mykel Hawke, U. S. Army Special Forces Officer, Captain (retired 2011), combat veteran.

“I very much believe that NATO should and could do more. That's a very delicate topic, because obviously, it's one of the things that Putin said he didn't want and he failed because now he has more people joining NATO than ever before. So good job, Putin,” Hawke said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, on the other hand, NATO wants to make sure that they are carrying out a legitimate verification process for countries joining NATO.

“All politics aside. You have to make sure that all the members are meeting the same standards. That's been an issue. And of course, NATO is concerned: 'If we allow Ukraine in then Russia will say that gives them an excuse for their fight' because that's been their concern all the time, but that's more of propaganda and lies. Putin lies about everything. There's nothing he says that is true,” he noted.

Hawke stressed that, in his opinion, NATO should allow Ukraine to become a member of the organization.

“In my opinion NATO needs to allow Ukraine to join NATO and then to say Putin: 'It's NATO now, you stop and go home or we all come and we bring the spank and we hold you accountable and you will fail'. I believe NATO needs to let Ukraine in and they need to support Ukraine and stand up against Putin and I'm hoping that would be enough of an escalation, that he would stop,” he said.

Hawke believes that Ukraine can become a member of NATO, even if there is a war in the country.

“I believe so. Absolutely. We've all listened to Putin's threats, we've all listened to Putin's lies, he's a liar, he's already there, he's already causing a global problem with fuel and food, he does not care. So NATO has to stop the old thinking that the old Putin would respect international law. He's going to die, he doesn't care, he wants a legacy, no matter what. He doesn't care how many Russians he kills or how many other citizens of Ukraine he kills or even other countries. So NATO needs to recognize this is a threat to the world now, they need to stop him now,” he stated.