Ukraine could be given instant entry to the NATO security alliance if Russia violates the terms of a peace deal being negotiated by Donald Trump, it has been claimed.
The White House is reportedly considering the possible condition amid concerns that Vladimir Putin could benefit from a ceasefire and use it to build up his forces for another invasion.
In the event of Moscow breaching the ceasefire terms, Kyiv could bypass a series of hurdles to be admitted to the Western military alliance, NBC reports, citing officials.
The transatlantic security bloc’s famous Article 5 – the cornerstone of its founding treaty in 1949 – stipulates that an armed attack against one or more of its members ‘shall be considered an attack against them all’.
The move would be designed to reassure both Kyiv and its allies in Europe that the United States will be involved in protecting Ukrainian territory should Russian forces launch a new invasion.
The potential bargaining chip could also amount to a promise to Vladimir Putin to keep Ukraine out of the bloc so long as he remains peaceful, despite years of assurances from NATO that Kyiv was on the path to joining.
Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called for his country to be admitted to the alliance, with several European leaders backing his country’s accession.
But Kyiv’s hopes were dampened last week when US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told his counterparts in Brussels that ‘the United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.’
Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called for his country to be admitted to the alliance
The White House is reportedly considering the possible condition amid concerns that Vladimir Putin could benefit from a ceasefire
A Romanian tank, part of NATO’s Allied Reaction Force (ARF), fires during the NATO Exercise Steadfast Dart 25 at the Romanian camp in Smardan, near Galati, Romania
Hegseth later gave a half-hearted caveat, adding that in regard to the likelihood of Ukraine’s future NATO membership, ‘everything is on the table’.
But NATO operates on a unanimous voting system, meaning that the US can bar Ukraine from joining the bloc even if the other 31 member nations are in favour.
At a summit in the Romanian capital in 2008, NATO declared that both Ukraine and Georgia would join the US-led defence alliance – but gave them no plan for how to get there.
NATO’s official position – which has been consistently endorsed by Sir Keir Starmer’s government – is that Kyiv is on an ‘irreversible’ path to joining the alliance.
Russia has said in no uncertain terms that Kyiv joining the security alliance would be unacceptable to it.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow views the idea of having NATO member troops on the ground in Ukraine as a ‘direct threat’ to Russian security.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow wants NATO to completely disavow its 2008 promise to one day give Ukraine membership of the US-led military alliance.
‘It is worth noting that a refusal to accept Kyiv into NATO is not enough,’ she said. ‘The alliance must disavow the Bucharest promises of 2008.’
Zelenskyy, left, greets U.S Special envoy for Ukraine and Russia retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, right, before the start of a bilateral meeting, February 20, 2025
U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg, left, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky attend their meeting in Kyiv
Russia has seized some 20 per cent of Ukraine and is slowly but steadily gaining territory in the east.
Moscow said its ‘special military operation’ responded to an existential threat posed by Kyiv’s pursuit of NATO membership, but Ukraine and the West call Russia’s action in Ukraine an imperialist land grab.
But Kyiv has been alarmed in recent days by the language used by Trump, who launched a barrage of personal attacks against Zelensky.
Moscow is likely feeling emboldened after Trump called the Ukrainian President a 'terrible' leader and blamed him for the three-year war, despite Russia being the aggressor.
In what appeared to be a thinly-veiled threat, and a shocking departure from US policy on Ukraine, the President went on to say that 'Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.'
It comes as Moscow is said to be preparing to declare victory in the war within days, according to Kyiv's military intelligence agency, which added that it and may portray it as a triumph over NATO as well, amounting to a defeat for the West.
Tracers are seen in the night sky as Ukrainian servicemen fire at the drone during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine
Monday marks the third anniversary of a war triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, even though the conflict's origins date back to 2014 when Putin grabbed Crimea and swathes of eastern Ukraine in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
'Russia is preparing to declare an alleged 'victory' in the war against Ukraine by the 'round date' - 24 February 2025, the third anniversary of the beginning of the full-scale war,' said the GUR agency today.
'Moreover, these plans may also include a 'Russian victory over NATO', as Muscovite propaganda has long described the war against Ukraine as a war with the Alliance.'