On Monday, Ukrainian officials reaffirmed their desire to join NATO after the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK suggested Kyiv was willing to drop its bid to join the alliance to ease tensions with Russia.

Ambassador Vadym Prystaiko told BBC that Ukraine could be "flexible" on the issue of a future NATO membership, but he later walked the comments back. Sergii Nykyforov, a spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO remain a priority.

At the same time, Zelensky appeared to downplay Ukraine's NATO plans. At a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Zelensky said the prospective membership could be "like a dream."

"How much should Ukraine go on that path?" Zelensky said of a NATO membership, as quoted by The New York Times. "Who will support us?"