NATO offers Ukraine hope for membership but no formal invitation

NATO states reassured Kiev on Tuesday that "Ukraine's future is in NATO" but - despite repeated requests from Ukrainian leaders - gave no timeline for the war-torn country to join the alliance at a summit in Vilnius. NATO "will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance when Allies agree and conditions are met," according to a declaration. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly appealed to allies to invite Ukraine to join NATO, a necessary first step to kick-start the alliance's accession procedure. But instead, leaders are tying a potential invitat...