Ukraine prepared to drop NATO membership demands

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Ukraine is prepared to drop its demand for Nato membership in exchange for strong security guarantees from the United States and European partners, as efforts intensify to advance peace talks with Russia.

Speaking ahead of talks in Berlin, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would accept bilateral security guarantees similar to Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence clause, provided by the US, European countries and other partners such as Canada and Japan. He described the offer as a significant compromise by Kyiv.

The comments come as US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner press Ukraine to accept difficult concessions, including the possible loss of frontline territory, as part of a White House-backed plan to end Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine has long acknowledged that Nato membership is unlikely in the near future due to strong Russian opposition. Moscow has repeatedly demanded that the alliance halt its eastward expansion as a condition for ending the war.

Zelenskyy said Kyiv has not yet received a response from Washington to revised peace proposals submitted earlier this week following consultations with European leaders. He added that any eventual plan would involve compromises and would not satisfy all sides.

Russia signalled it is likely to reject proposals put forward by Ukraine and Europe. Yuri Ushakov, President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser, said Russia would have serious objections if the United States adopted those ideas and dismissed them as unconstructive.

Both Ukraine and Russia appeared to oppose a US proposal to create a “free economic zone” in parts of eastern Ukraine by withdrawing troops from the Donbas region. Zelenskyy said such a plan would be unfair unless Russian forces also withdrew an equal distance from occupied areas.

He argued that a ceasefire based on freezing current positions was the only realistic path toward peace, saying both sides should halt where they are and resolve broader issues through diplomacy.

Ushakov said Russia would only accept full control over the Donbas and rejected comparisons to a Korean-style frozen conflict. He also ruled out Ukraine regaining Crimea or joining Nato.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hosted the talks in Berlin, seeking to reassert Europe’s role in negotiations. In a speech on Saturday, Merz warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine posed a threat to all of Europe, drawing parallels with Nazi Germany’s territorial expansion before the Second World War.