Security News > 2022 > March > Russia gets triggered by Ukraine joining NATO cyberdefense hub
Russia's ambassador to Estonia today compared Ukraine's participation in NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence intel-sharing cyberdefense hub to an attempt at blackmail.
Although being accepted as a contributing participant, this does not make Ukraine a NATO member, but it will most likely tighten collaboration and will also allow it to gain access to NATO members' cyber-expertise and share its own.
NATO's decision to accept Ukraine as a CCDCOE contributing participant was symbolic and it illustrates plans of "Integration with NATO infrastructure," according to ambassador Vladimir Lipayev.
Endeavors to join the NATO alliance stomped by Russia.
Ukraine's path to becoming a NATO member started at the 2008 Bucharest Summit when its first attempt to join was denied following strong objections from Russia.
Thirteen years later, the alliance re-confirmed during the June 2021 Brussels Summit that Ukraine will become a NATO member after going through the Membership Action Plan "As an integral part of the process."