Zelenskyy: NATO Invitation Must Cover All Recognized Borders But Actions Can Be Limited to Controlled Territories

In a December 11 interview with CBN News, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy underscored that Kyiv would only accept NATO invitations encompassing Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. However, he acknowledged that the Alliance’s actions would be limited to the territories currently under Ukraine’s control until the end of the war.

"We know that NATO will not admit us during the war. However, if we truly want to end the war, NATO membership must be granted to Ukraine. The invitation should apply to the entire country within its internationally recognized borders—there’s no debate about this," said Zelenskyy.

He emphasized that this requirement is mandated by Ukraine's Constitution and international law, which cannot be violated.

"The Alliance's actions, however, can initially cover the territories under Ukraine's control, with future expansion as we regain more areas," Zelenskyy added.

When asked about what he means when talking about security assurances under a NATO umbrella, Zelenskyy stated:  “When we are talking about a model — a model that would disable people coming to your land with weaponry, and border protection, then we are talking the only available model, working model, at least among the NATO countries because they are not in war — praise God, praise God — that they do not have that war, because it is suffering. So we do believe those guarantees, under a NATO umbrella, as I said, an invitation is step one because that would send a very clear signal to Putin or any other aggressor, you name it, that Ukraine is going to be a NATO member.“