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Ukraine has officially applied for membership to NATO, but are western allies shaky about accepting Ukraine into NATO.

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With the months-long war in Ukraine and the rampant chaos it has caused around the world, it was just a matter of time before Ukraine played the ultimate Trump card, officially applying for NATO membership. But it takes unanimous consent from the 30 members, and it appears there are some troubles with that.

Washington Examiner reports. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Ukraine’s request for rapid ascension into NATO should occur at a later date.

Sullivan told reporters on Friday that the request, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced hours earlier, “should be taken up at a different time” because “our view is that the best way for us to support Ukraine is through practical on the ground support in Ukraine.”

Sullivan went on to announce that the administration would be moving forward with another military aid package “immediately,” which comes only days after the Pentagon announced a $1.1 billion package, and it brought the U.S. total military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded to more than $16 billion.

With billions and billions of dollars flowing into Ukraine to help them in their war against Russia, Vladmir putin has not taken it sitting down.

Although Putin has previously expressed the willingness of his country to use nuclear weapons if provoked, there is concern that any military escalation—including the implementation of a no-fly zone, as suggested at the beginning—could result in Russian retribution. Early conversations around the war revolved around Russian concerns about Ukraine’s potential alliance with NATO. Despite the fact that President Joe Biden reportedly told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that his country was in control of its NATO membership, Russia viewed NATO expansion as a potential provocation. In recent months, the country has sought to create its own alliances with countries like China in order to protect itself against the West, while simultaneously pressuring the alliance not to interfere in its conflict with Ukraine, which has been ongoing in some form since February 2014.

It is pretty well known that America is sending its best hardware and providing training in Ukraine, and Russia is on the ropes. The question remains how long we can officially stay out of the fight, and just provide hardware? If Russia throws the kitchen sink at the problem, and the conflict spills across NATO borders, then all bets are off.

Let’s continue this conversation, in the comments below.