Ukraine will not agree to join NATO without applying Article 5 of the Alliance's Charter, Deputy Head of the President’s Office Ihor Zhovkva said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"We really say that the best guarantee of security for Ukraine is Article 5. That's all. Therefore, we do not need any ersatz options, any hybrid options. We don't need any speculation about any possible status," he said.

According to the deputy head of the President's Office, "On September 30, 2022, the president clearly replied that there could be no non-aligned, neutral statuses for Ukraine. We don't need this option."

At the same time, he believes that the NATO countries are "intensely thinking" about the application of this article. "I think that the NATO member states have now got a good opportunity after Russia's aggression against Ukraine to think about this article. And I think they are thinking about it very intensely," Zhovkva said.

"This is really a test case for every NATO member state: ‘what if suddenly?’ Therefore, let them think," he added.

According to Article 5 of the NATO Charter, an armed attack by one or more NATO member countries is considered an attack on all.