Explainer-What would it mean if Ukraine joined NATO?

FILE PHOTO: Banners displaying the NATO logo are placed at the entrance of new NATO headquarters during the move to the new building, in Brussels, Belgium April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman//File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ukraine, fighting a devastating Russian invasion since February 2022, seeks to join NATO as quickly as possible but members of the Western military alliance are divided over how fast that step should be taken.

While eastern European countries want some sort of a road map to be offered to Kyiv at a NATO summit in Vilnius in mid-July, Western members such as the United States, France and Germany are wary of any move that might take the alliance closer to war with Russia.