:: Russian speaking regions of [Eastern] Ukraine ::
...are why the [tyranncal] government of UKR have never held a national referendum on state sovereignty.
They will have a difficult time becoming part of NATO as they are currently constituted; they are not a sovereign, independent \nation\ conferred by the citizens of UKR.
The US no longer has the world-wide credibility to bully the rest of NATO into accepting UKR into the “fold”.
They do have certain standards written into the charter, other than Section V.
.