Ukrainian President Volodmir Zelensky suggested that a ceasefire agreement could be reached, even without the immediate return of territories controlled by Russia, as long as the country joined NATO, and asked for protection from the military alliance led by the United States.
In an interview with Sky News, Zelenski stated that the offer of membership would end the “hot phase of the war”, allowing the return of the territory to be negotiated later, diplomatically, but argued that the proposal should include Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders.
“If we want to end the hot phase of the war, we must place the territory of Ukraine that we control under NATO protection,” he said, when asked about US President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to end the conflict, which would involve the concession of occupied territory in exchange for NATO membership.
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“This is what we must do quickly and then Ukraine will be able to take back the other part of its territory through diplomatic channels.”
For Zelensky, the agreement would prevent further aggression from Russia. This is because the North Atlantic treaty is clear in saying that an armed attack against one member country is considered an attack against all. “If we talk about a ceasefire, we need guarantees”, defended the Ukrainian president.
Russia currently controls 18% of Ukraine’s territory. This includes the Crimean peninsula, which it seized a decade ago, and the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which it annexed during the war.
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Although he signaled that he would be willing to leave the return of the occupied territory until later, Zelensky argued that any proposal for NATO membership should extend to all of Ukraine, considering the internationally recognized borders. “You cannot extend an invitation to just one part of a country,” he said. “Why? Because then you would be recognizing that Ukraine is just that territory and the other is Russia.”
The statements signal a possible path forward in Ukraine’s difficult process of joining the military alliance. This is a central point in Zelensky’s “victory plan”, seen as a strategy to strengthen Kiev’s position for eventual negotiations with Moscow. Among the obstacles to membership, however, is the clear definition of borders, which leaves no doubt about where NATO’s mutual defense pact would come into force.
War will be high on the agenda when foreign ministers from NATO countries meet in Brussels for a two-day meeting starting December 3.
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Pressure on Ukraine
Discussions about a ceasefire intensified with Donald Trump’s victory in the United States. The Republican is critical of weapons spending for Kiev and said during the campaign that he would end the war in one day, without explaining how he would do it. The suggestion has led to concerns that Ukraine could be forced to accept unfavorable terms in an eventual peace deal with Russia.
In addition to uncertainty in the geopolitical field, the country suffers from growing pressure on the battlefield. Russian troops advanced along a key logistical route for the Ukrainian military, according to the most recent survey by the Institute for the Study of War, which monitors the conflict.
The Ukrainian air force announced this Saturday, 30, that the country suffered attacks from ten Russian drones. Eight were shot down, one returned to occupied territory and the last disappeared from radar, often a sign of the use of electronic defenses. On the other hand, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that 11 Ukrainian drones were shot down by the country’s air defense systems. No casualties were reported./COM AFP AND AP
