Ukraine Has Officially Joined NATO’s Cyber Defense Center

Kiev officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Cyber Defense Center on Tuesday. Ukraine’s flag was raised at the headquarters of NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) in Tallinn, according to a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry statement.

Ukraine applied to join CCDCOE in 2021 and has been a “contributing participant” since March 2022. “Today the National Flag of Ukraine is officially raised at the Headquarters of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, marking official accession of Ukraine to CCDCOE,” the ministry said on Twitter. Kiev further thanked the members of the CCDCOE for the invitation and expressed “special gratitude” to the Estonian government for championing Ukraine’s ascension.

The announcement represents another escalation in the North Atlantic alliance’s proxy war with Russia. Ukrainian membership in NATO, or the establishment of a permanent military presence on Russia’s doorstep, is known by US officials as Moscow’s “brightest of all red lines.”