Ukraine’s Zelenskyy ditches ambition to join NATO ahead of peace talks

Ukraine has relinquished its ambition of joining the NATO military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of talks with U.S. envoys in Berlin.

The move marks a major shift for Ukraine, which has fought to join NATO as a safeguard against Russian attacks and has such an aspiration included in its constitution. It also meets one of Russia’s war aims, although Kyiv has so far held firm against ceding territory to Moscow.

Zelenskyy said on Sunday that the U.S., European, and other partners’ security guarantees, instead of NATO membership, were a compromise on Ukraine’s side.

“From the very beginning, Ukraine’s desire was to join NATO, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the US and Europe did not support this direction,” he said in answer to questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat.

“Thus, today, bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the US, Article 5-like guarantees for us from the US, and security guarantees from European colleagues, as well as other countries — Canada, Japan — are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion,” Zelenskyy said.

“And it is already a compromise from our part,” he said, adding that the security guarantees should be legally binding.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine officially renounce its NATO ambitions and withdraw troops from about 10% of Donbas, which Kyiv still controls. Moscow has also said that Ukraine must be a neutral country and that no NATO troops can be stationed in Ukraine.

Russian sources said earlier this year that Putin wants a “written” pledge by major Western powers not to enlarge the U.S.-led NATO alliance eastwards — shorthand for formally ruling out membership to Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other former Soviet republics.

Zelenskyy had earlier called for a “dignified” peace and guarantees that Russia would not attack Ukraine again as he prepared to meet U.S. envoys and European allies in Berlin to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

Under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to sign a peace deal that initially backed Moscow’s demands, Zelenskyy accused Russia of dragging out the war through deadly bombings of cities and Ukraine’s power and water supplies.

Although the exact make-up of the meetings on Sunday and Monday has not been made public, a U.S. official said Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were travelling to Germany for talks involving Ukrainians and Europeans.

The choice to send Witkoff, who has led negotiations with Ukraine and Russia on a U.S. peace proposal, appeared to be a signal that Washington saw a chance of progress nearly four years after Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine, the Europeans, and the U.S. are looking at a 20-point plan, and that at the end of this, there is a ceasefire. He said Kyiv has no direct talks with Russia.

Zelenskyy said a ceasefire along the current front lines would be a fair option.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is hosting Zelenskyy and European leaders for a summit in the German capital on Monday, the latest in a series of public shows of support for the Ukrainian leader from allies across Europe.