Ukraine says any deal to end the nearly four-year war must include firm guarantees that Russia will not attack again. For years, Kyiv has argued that NATO membership is the clearest way to secure that protection.
NATO has repeatedly said Ukraine is on a path toward membership, while Russia has pushed back in negotiations and demanded Ukraine remain neutral. What security guarantees could look like—and who would provide them—remains one of the most difficult issues in talks, alongside disputes over territory and the future size of Ukraine’s military.
What To Know
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has indicated he may be willing to set aside Kyiv’s long-standing demand for NATO membership if allies instead provide strong, binding security guarantees, according to a new report.
“We are talking about bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the United States—namely, Article 5-like guarantees,” and agreements with European countries, plus other nations like Canada and Japan,” Zelensky told journalists via message on Sunday, according to The Financial Times.
Zelensky said Saturday that Ukrainian officials were working to ensure any peace is “dignified” and includes a guarantee—above all—that Russia “will not return to Ukraine for a third invasion.”
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and supported pro-Kremlin separatists in eastern Ukraine. Its full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Zelensky said Ukraine has submitted a new 20-point plan to U.S. officials, along with additional documents, including a written proposal outlining potential security guarantees.
Washington’s push for Ukraine and Russia to quickly finalize a peace agreement has fueled anxiety in Kyiv and among European supporters that a rushed deal could favor Moscow and weaken broader European security. An earlier 28-point version was widely viewed as beneficial to Russia, and the U.S. denied it reflected a Russian proposal.
Zelensky said Sunday that he was already in Berlin ahead of talks with a U.S. delegation on Monday. Axios reported Friday that he would meet President Donald Trump’s Russia envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in Germany.
A senior unnamed U.S. official told the outlet that the Trump administration was open to offering NATO-style security guarantees that would require congressional approval.
NATO members are covered by Article 5 of the alliance’s founding treaty, under which allies assist a member that comes under armed attack, with each country determining the form of its response.
Ukraine, however, points to the Budapest Memorandum as a cautionary example. Under that political pledge, Ukraine agreed to give up nuclear weapons in exchange for security “assurances” regarding its independence and sovereignty from the U.S., the U.K., and Russia after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Russia violated that memorandum in 2014 and again in 2022.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told state media Sunday that Moscow wanted a “certain system of guarantees not only for security but also for the implementation of these agreements.”
What People Are Saying
Trump “doesn’t want any more talk, he wants action,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. “He wants this war to come to an end.”
“We are currently preparing for meetings with the U.S. side and our European friends in the coming days,” Zelensky said Saturday.
