President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine would need the U.S. to help it build up an army as big as that of Russia to serve as a "Plan B" if his country is not admitted into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

For Zelensky, in an interview with The Economist, “Ukraine will have to strengthen its army considerably if it's not accepted into NATO. In particular, this would mean doubling the number of military personnel”.

Ukraine is not giving up on its NATO aspirations, but if denied an invitation to the alliance, it "must build NATO on its territory" by strengthening the military, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Economist in an interview published on Feb.