Ukraine seeks NATO membership ahead of Trump’s return

Ukraine insisted on Tuesday that NATO membership was the only “real guarantee” for its security as foreign ministers from the alliance looked set to rebuff Kyiv’s request for an invitation ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency.

Trump has vowed to push for a quick deal to end Russia’s war, leaving Kyiv scrambling to position itself ahead of his January inauguration.

Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has stated that securing security guarantees from the Western alliance and receiving key weaponry are prerequisites for Kyiv to begin discussions on halting its fight.

“We are convinced that the only real guarantee of security for Ukraine, as well as a deterrent to further Russian aggression against Ukraine and other states, is Ukraine’s full membership in NATO,” the foreign ministry in Kyiv said.

Zelensky said on Sunday that Kyiv was hoping NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels with Ukraine’s top diplomat would issue “recommendations” to grant his country a membership invitation.

“But we have no illusions—there are some sceptical countries,” he said.

Until now, the leaders of NATO heavyweights, the United States and Germany, have backed away from Ukrainian membership out of fear it could drag the alliance into a war with Russia.

Diplomats said that with the Biden administration on its way out and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s future uncertain ahead of elections, Kyiv hoped their foreign ministers could have more leeway.

However, US officials privately state that the Biden administration will not support Ukraine’s push, as they believe any offer would be rescinded by the president-elect.

NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, dismissed questions about Ukraine’s potential membership and its role in peace talks, saying the alliance needed to “concentrate” on sending more weapons to Kyiv.

“I would now argue that Ukraine doesn’t need more ideas on what a peace process could look like,” Rutte said. “Make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to get to a position of strength when those peace talks start.”

‘Good Deal’
Trump has claimed he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine in a matter of hours, but has provided no details on how he intends to achieve that goal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned against any moves to place Ukraine under NATO’s security umbrella.

“Such a potential decision is unacceptable to us,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Trump’s new envoy on the Ukraine war, Keith Kellogg, has suggested shelving Ukraine’s longstanding NATO ambitions as part of a peace deal while still providing Kyiv with security guarantees.

Rutte warned the incoming US administration that if Ukraine received a “bad deal”, it risked emboldening American rivals such as China and North Korea.

“Whenever we get to a deal on Ukraine, it has to be a good deal,” he said.

Boots on the Ground?
While moving Ukraine closer to the alliance appears unlikely at the moment, two Western diplomats said initial discussions had begun on whether European troops could be deployed to enforce any eventual ceasefire.

“In many countries, there is very serious thinking on various possible scenarios and how we can contribute to security guarantees,” a European diplomat said. “We need to be able to have an idea to communicate to the US.”

As Ukraine continues to push diplomatically, its forces are struggling across the eastern front in the face of Russia’s grinding offensive.

Russia said on Tuesday that it had captured two more southeastern villages, while Ukraine claimed it had repelled a push across a key river.

Kyiv is seeking to extract all the weaponry it can from the Biden administration amid fears Trump may reduce aid.

On Monday, Washington announced an additional $725 million military aid package for Ukraine.

Kyiv has called on allies to provide air defence systems capable of shooting down Moscow’s new Oreshnik experimental ballistic missile. Officials indicated these include the American Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and the Arrow system developed by Israel and the US.

NATO diplomats said they doubted Washington would move quickly to provide Ukraine with the new systems, given the lengthy process required for Biden to approve the less-modern Patriot defences.