Politics Ukraine’s partial NATO accession is technically possible; the question is the political will of Ukraine’s allies. Friday, December 6, 2024

Technically, the accession of part of Ukraine to NATO is possible and would have precedent, following the examples of Germany before its unification and certain islands co-owned by France and the UK that are not Alliance territories by treaty. Therefore, the question is whether NATO members have the political will for this, especially the US, writes DW. Germany is afraid that the risk of being drawn into a military conflict in response to another Russian attack on Ukraine would be very high. However, former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg disagrees with this, believing that Ukraine’s immediate partial accession to NATO could end the war, but it would be necessary to determine which territories Article 5 would apply to. Poland, France, and the Baltic countries could consent to the Ukraine’s partial accession even before the war ends. President Zelenskyy has said previously that Ukraine understands the impossibility of joining NATO before the end of the war but requests an invitation to demonstrate the state’s Euro-Atlantic ties to Russia.