THE TOPIC OF NATO has been one of the main discussion points during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has for decades objected to NATO expansion, and has made it clear that Ukraine could not join this international alliance.

In an emotional speech last weekend, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy hit out at NATO for refusing to impose a no-fly zone over his country.

In addition, Ireland’s relationship with NATO (we’re not a member) has been heavily debated during these past two weeks.

But what is NATO? Not everyone knows all about this organisation, what it does, and why it’s so important. So this week on The Explainer we take a look at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and why it has continued to take a cautious approach to the conflict in Ukraine.

To explain it all, joining presenter Michelle Hennessy is Dr Andrew Cottey, senior lecturer at the Department of Government and Politics at UCC.

Listen here for more:

https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/what-is-nato-and-whats-irelands-involvement-in-it

This episode was put together by presenters Michelle Hennessy and Gráinne Ni Aodha, and producers Nicky Ryan and Aoife Barry.