An irresistible force is keeping Ukraine’s membership of Nato infuriatingly out of reach. Everyone, not least Ukraine, wants to see it happen … but it’s still not happening. It’s like that infamous sign on an outback pub: ‘Free Beer Tomorrow.’

In 2021, Zelensky sat in the Oval Office, meeting with President Joe Biden during an official visit to the US, and he told reporters he planned to press his American counterpart on the question of Ukraine’s ‘chances to join Nato and the timeframe’.