NATO membership is Ukraine's main foreign policy priority

Illustration - Photo courtesy: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brendan Stephens/Released

Ukraine has officially set NATO membership as a key foreign policy goal, overturning the country's non-aligned status adopted by the previous government ousted in the Euromaidan coup of 2014.

An amendment to Ukraine's main law related to security was signed by President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday and officially came into force on Sunday.

The amendment, which was published in the Ukrainian Rada's official Golos Ukrainy (Voice of Ukraine) newspaper, makes entry into "the Euro-Atlantic security realm… with the goal of becoming member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization" a top priority.

Poroshenko, who has led the country since the Euromaidan coup removed President Viktor Yanukovich from power in 2014, wrote on his Facebook page that "Ukraine's course towards...