By Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called on NATO to invite Ukraine to join the Western military alliance at next week’s Brussels meeting, according to a diplomatic letter viewed by Reuters Friday.
The request, part of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recently outlined “victory plan” to end the 33-month-old war, acknowledges Ukraine cannot join NATO until the conflict ends but argues an invitation now would demonstrate to Russian President Vladimir Putin he cannot achieve his goal of blocking Ukrainian membership.
“The invitation should not be seen as an escalation,” Sybiha wrote to NATO counterparts regarding the December 3-4 ministerial meeting. “On the contrary, with a clear understanding that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is inevitable, Russia will lose one of its main arguments for continuing this unjustified war.”
Zelenskyy, in an interview with Sky News, proposed a novel approach: NATO could extend membership to Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, while initially applying protections only to territory under Kyiv’s control. “No one has offered us to be in NATO for one part or another part of Ukraine… That’s what we need to do fast and then Ukraine can get back the other part of its territory diplomatically,” he said.
Sybiha’s letter cited Russia’s “constant escalation,” including “the involvement of tens of thousands of North Korean troops and the use of Ukraine as a testing ground for new weapons” as reasons for immediate action.
However, NATO diplomats say there is no consensus among the alliance’s 32 members for extending an invitation. While NATO has declared Ukraine’s membership “irreversible,” it has not issued a formal invitation or timeline. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna acknowledged the political reality, telling Reuters, “We understand that consensus for an invitation to join NATO is not yet there.”
Diplomats note no changes in member states’ positions are likely as they await clarity on Ukraine policy from incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
