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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is ready to abandon demands for NATO membership in exchange for security guarantees from the United States and Europe, marking a major shift ahead of peace talks in the German capital on Sunday.
"From the very beginning, Ukraine desired to join NATO; these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the U.S. and Europe did not support this direction," Zelenskyy told reporters in a WhatsApp chat, according to reports.
"And it is already a compromise on our part," he added.
The move meets one of Russia's stated war aims, although Kyiv has so far held firm against ceding territory to Moscow. Ukraine's aspiration to join NATO is enshrined in its constitution.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine requires legally binding security guarantees similar to NATO's Article 5 clause of mutual protection for any member under attack.
"We are talking about bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the United States—namely, Article 5-like guarantees ... as well as security guarantees for us from our European partners and from other countries such as Canada, Japan and others," Zelenskyy said.
"Thus, today, bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the U.S., Article 5-like guarantees for us from the U.S., and security guarantees from European colleagues, as well as other countries—Canada and Japan—are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion," Zelenskyy added.
U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner traveled to Germany for talks involving Ukrainian and European officials, a U.S. official said.
The choice to send Witkoff, who has led negotiations with Ukraine and Russia on a U.S. peace proposal, appeared to signal that Washington saw a chance of progress nearly four years after Russia's 2022 invasion.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine, Europe, and the U.S. are examining a 20-point plan with a ceasefire at the end. He said Kyiv has no direct talks with Russia.
"The plan will certainly not be one that everyone likes. There are many compromises in one or another version of the plan," he added.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine has yet to receive a response from Washington to revised proposals sent earlier this week from Kyiv after consultations with European leaders.
Zelenskyy said a ceasefire along the current front lines would be a fair option. Russia has demanded Kyiv withdraw its troops from parts of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions that Ukraine still holds.
"Ukraine needs peace on dignified terms, and we are ready to work as constructively as possible. The coming days will be filled with diplomacy. It is critically important that it delivers results," Zelenskyy said earlier on X.
Britain, France and Germany have been working to refine U.S. proposals, which in a draft disclosed last month called for Kyiv to cede more territory, abandon its ambition to join NATO and accept limits on its armed forces.
European allies have described this as a "critical moment" that could shape Ukraine's future and sought to shore up Kyiv's finances by leveraging frozen Russian central bank assets to fund Ukraine's military and civilian budget.
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Russia has said it would reject all of Ukraine and Europe's proposals, throwing doubt on whether Trump's push to end the nearly four-year war could succeed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Witkoff and Kushner at a meeting earlier in December that the Kremlin praised as "constructive," although no major breakthroughs were reached.
Zelenskyy said hundreds of thousands remain without power after Russian strikes on energy, heating and water supplies across Ukraine.
"Russia is dragging out the war and seeks to inflict as much harm as possible on our people," Zelenskyy said.
"In total, the Russians launched over 1,500 attack drones, nearly 900 guided aerial bombs, and 46 missiles of various types against Ukraine this week," he concluded.
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