On May 14, 2020, a new course “About NATO” was launched on the civic education platform VUM online.
On February 7, 2019, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law “On Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine (Regarding the Strategic Course of the State to Acquire Ukraine’s Full Membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization)”.
It was with the adoption of this law that Ukraine first declared its state course towards the EU and NATO in the country’s basic law – the Constitution.
We are a country that has been subjected to military aggression by the Russian Federation and the occupation of our territories. We have been waging a defensive war for six years, but there are still doubts in society as to whether Ukraine should achieve the membership in the world’s most powerful security alliance, which includes developed and democratic countries. So this course is developed for the general public to tell about NATO and explain what kind of organization it is, what principles it includes and what values it is guided by.
We are a country where aftereffects of Soviet propaganda can still be notable. And as a result – a country in which a large proportion of people still form their position on NATO, based on various myths and populism of the sympathizers of the “Russian world”. Therefore, this course is designed to dispel myths, provide verified information from primary sources, introduce experts who understand the geopolitical importance of the state’s course for full membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and understand what we have already done in this direction. And how much we have to do.
Citizens lack the arguments to form their own critical stance on NATO and its importance to Ukraine, as well as the importance of Ukraine to NATO. Russia’s hybrid war with Ukraine and the civilized world has violated the usual principles of security. Information has become a weapon that more effective than bullets and missiles. This means that Ukrainians need to form their own position, where there will be no place for the tragic Soviet past, but there will be a place for a quality and effective future.
The course was developed with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Representation in Ukraine (Kharkiv).
The course is in Ukrainian and it is free.