This Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that he could accept NATO protection guarantees limited, initially, to the territories controlled by kyiv, if this would put an end to “the hot phase of the war” led by the Russia.
Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready this Friday, November 29, for a temporary loss of certain Ukrainian territories if this allowed, initially, the rest of the country to join NATO.
Almost three years after the launch of a large-scale offensive by Vladimir Putin, the planned return of Donald Trump to the White House next January, in a context of escalation of the conflict after the firing by Moscow of a powerful new missile towards Ukraine, has sowed doubt about a potential ceasefire.
Thus, given this context, Volodymyr Zelensky made it clear that he was willing to wait before recovering the areas occupied by the Russian army, almost a fifth of the country, only if such an agreement could offer protection. to the rest of Ukraine and thus end the fighting.
Moscow refuses any entry of Ukraine into NATO
“If we want to put an end to the hot phase of the war, we must place under the aegis of NATO the territory of Ukraine that we control,” the Ukrainian president declared to the British channel Sky News, according to a voice-over translation of his words in English.
“This is what we need to do quickly, and then Ukraine can recover the other part of its territory through diplomatic channels,” he also added.
Until now, kyiv had always ruled out ceding territories in exchange for peace. Vladimir Putin has already demanded that the Ukrainian army withdraw from more territories and completely refuses any accession of his adversary to NATO.
18% of Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia
Since the start of the conflict in February 2022, Moscow has already annexed the regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhia, even if it only partially controls them, in addition to the Crimean peninsula, which it had already annexed in 2014 Russia thus controls approximately 18% of Ukraine's internationally recognized territory.
In recent weeks, the conflict has intensified in an unprecedented way, with massive strikes on territories controlled by kyiv. Vladimir Putin also threatened to strike decision-making centers in the Ukrainian capital with his new “Orechnik” missile, in reaction to the sending of missiles supplied by the United States and the United Kingdom to Russian territory.
During his campaign, Donald Trump sharply criticized US aid to kyiv and claimed that, if elected, he would end the conflict within hours, without specifying how.
On the Washington side, since Donald Trump won the presidential election, Joe Biden's administration has decided to strengthen its support for kyiv, notably by transferring more weapons and authorizing Ukraine to fire for the first time. long-range missiles on Russian territory.
Necessary guarantees
Volodymyr Zelensky thus insisted that any offer to join NATO must be made to the whole of Ukraine, but that he could accept that the protection of the alliance, such as the defense clause collective of article 5, only applies to the territories still controlled by kyiv.
“If we talk about a ceasefire, (we need) guarantees that Vladimir Putin will not return,” declared the Ukrainian president.
Vladimir Putin has nevertheless already made it clear that if kyiv wants a peace agreement, it must renounce its ambitions to join NATO, which Russia will firmly oppose.
