It marks the first time Zelenskyy has suggested he would accept a cease-fire in which Russia continues to control some Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would be willing to enter a cease-fire agreement with Russia provided the unoccupied parts of his nation received NATO protection.
The embattled leader said during a Nov. 29 interview with Sky News that such an arrangement would allow Kyiv to diplomatically seek the return of its occupied lands with Russia.
“If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,” Zelenskyy said.
“We need to do it fast. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way.”
The comments mark the first time that Zelenskyy has expressed an openness to a cease-fire arrangement in which Ukraine does not control all of its territory.
There have been several key shifts on the battlefield in recent weeks, including the launch of an experimental Russian missile and the loss of more territory to Russian forces in Ukraine-occupied Kursk.
President Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine the limited use of some anti-personnel mines and reportedly the authority to use U.S.-supplied tactical ballistic missiles against military targets in Russian territory, but such measures appear to have had little effect on the battlefield thus far.
Despite these developments, it is unlikely that Zelenskyy’s suggestion would be accepted by either Moscow or NATO.
Ukraine has sought membership in NATO since 1997. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Ukraine’s membership would present an unacceptable security risk to Russia and has demanded that Kyiv pledge to never join the alliance as a condition of ending the war.
Even if Putin should express a willingness to soften that position, there would be other hurdles for Ukraine.
The first is that admission to the alliance requires the unanimous consent of all members. That would be a tall order given that some NATO members, such as Hungary and Turkey, have previously expressed an unwillingness to accept Ukraine’s bid for membership, given Russia’s concerns.
The second hurdle is that it is not currently clear if Ukraine meets the standards of transparency and anti-corruption measures expected of NATO members.