Ukraine steps back from NATO ambitions

As Zelensky traveled to Berlin on Sunday for peace talks with the United States and European partners, he told reporters that Ukraine is ready to set aside NATO membership in return for security guarantees.

According to the Financial Times, Ukrainian officials had previously acknowledged that joining NATO in the near future was unlikely. Russia, meanwhile, has long demanded a commitment from the military alliance to halt its eastward expansion and has made Ukraine’s non-membership in NATO a condition for ending the war in peace negotiations.

Speaking to journalists on Sunday, Zelensky said Ukraine still requires security guarantees from the United States and Europe — guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5, which provides for collective defense in the event of an attack on a member state.

In a WhatsApp chat with reporters, Zelensky said: “We are talking about bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the United States — that is, guarantees similar to Article 5… as well as security guarantees from our European partners and from countries such as Canada, Japan, and others. This is a compromise on our part.”

Zelensky added that Ukraine has not yet received a response from Washington regarding the proposed amendments it sent earlier this week after consultations with European leaders.

The war in Ukraine began following Kyiv’s efforts, backed by Western countries, to join the NATO military alliance. Now, after nearly four years of fighting and the deaths of thousands, Ukraine has stepped back from that demand.