NATO offer for Ukrainian-controlled land could end ‘hot stage’ of war: Zelenskyy – National

An offer to join NATO in the territory under Kiev’s control would end the “hot war phase”. Ukrainehowever, any proposal to join the military alliance should cover all parts of the country that lie below internationally recognized borders, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in an interview on the program.

Zelensky’s remarks on Friday signaled a possible path to Ukraine’s difficult path to future NATO membership. At their summit in Washington in July, the 32 member states announced that Ukraine was on an “irreversible” path to membership. However, one of the obstacles to moving forward has been the belief that the borders should be clearly defined before Ukraine joins, so that there is no confusion as to where the alliance’s mutual defense pact will come into force.

“You can’t invite just one part of the country,” the Ukrainian president said in an interview with Sky News, dubbed by the British broadcaster. “Why? Because that way you would recognize that Ukraine is only that territory of Ukraine and the other is Russia.

“So legally, by law, we have no right to recognize the occupied territory as Russian territory,” he said.

Since the start of the war in 2022, Russia has expended massive amounts of weapons and lives to make small but steady territorial gains over the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine it already controls in eastern and southern Ukraine.

“If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we should take over the territory of Ukraine under our control under the auspices of NATO. We need to do this quickly. And then Ukraine can regain the other part of its territory diplomatically,” he said.

The invitation to Ukraine to join NATO is one of the main points of Zelensky’s “victory plan”, which he presented to Western allies and the Ukrainian people in October. The plan is seen as a way for Ukraine to strengthen its hand in any negotiations with Moscow.

Earlier this week, NATO’s new secretary-general, Mark Rutte, said the alliance “must go further” to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian encroachment. It is expected that military aid to Kiev and steps to end the war will be one of the most important agenda items when the foreign ministers of the NATO member states meet in Brussels for a two-day meeting starting on December 3.

However, any decision on Ukraine joining the military alliance would require a longer process and the consent of all member states.

There is also uncertainty about President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy stance. While Trump promised on the campaign trail to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine within a day, he has not publicly discussed how that might happen. Trump also announced Wednesday that Keith Kellogg, an 80-year-old highly decorated retired three-star general, will serve as his special envoy to Ukraine and Russia.

In April, Kellogg wrote that “ending the Russia-Ukraine war will require strong leadership from America First to achieve a peace agreement and an immediate end to hostilities between the two warring parties.”

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Meanwhile, in his only campaign debate with Vice President Kamal Harris, Trump twice refused to directly answer a question about whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war, raising concerns that Kiev could be forced to accept unfavorable terms in any talks.

Zelensky’s announcement comes as Ukraine faces increasing pressure along its 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. In its latest report, the Washington-based think tank The Institute for the Study of War said on Saturday that Russian forces had recently advanced near Kupiansk, Torecka and near Pokrovsk and Veliky Novosilka, a key logistics route for the Ukrainian military.

The Ukrainian Air Force announced on Saturday that ten Russian drones had attacked the country, eight of which were shot down over Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions. One drone returned to Russian-occupied territory, while the last drone disappeared from radar, often indicating the use of electronic defenses.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the country’s air defense systems shot down 11 Ukrainian drones. Both the mayor of Sochi, Andrey Proshunin, and the head of Russia’s Dagestan region, Sergey Melikov, both in southwestern Russia, said drones had been destroyed overnight in their regions. No casualties have been reported.

On Friday, Ukraine’s president announced a series of changes to the military leadership, saying changes in personnel management were needed to improve the situation on the battlefield.

General Mykhailo Drapaty, who led the defense of Kharkiv during Russia’s new offensive against Ukraine’s second-largest city this year, was appointed as the new head of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. Oleh Apostol was named the new deputy commander-in-chief responsible for improving military training.

Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Sirsky also announced on Friday that he would support units in Donetsk, Pokrovsk and Kurakhovo with additional reserves, ammunition, weapons and military equipment.

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