For the first time, Ukraine’s President, Vlodymyr Zelensky, has said he is ready to leave territory to Russia to end the war. The Ukrainian president said his country could renounce Russia occupied temporarily in exchange for the territory controlling Ukraine to enter the “NATO umbrella”. He added that Kiev could later negotiate “diplomatically” the return of the East territory that is currently under Russian control after the ceasefire has been agreed. “If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we must put under the Umbrella of Ukraine under our control under our control,” Zelensky said in an interview with Sky News.
“This is what we have to do quickly, and then Ukraine can take the rest of the territory again,” he added. The “NATO umbrella” may mean NATO membership or may mean individual security guarantees provided by Western allies.
Ukraine’s full NATO membership would cause war between Russia and the West, according to Article 5 of the Alliance. However, Putin has rejected Ukraine’s NATO membership as part of any future peace agreement. Zelensky’s comments came in response to a question whether Kiev would be ready to give Moscow territory in exchange for full NATO membership. “No one has offered us to be in NATO with only part or another part of Ukraine. It could be possible, but no one offered us, ”he said.