Security guarantees for Ukraine

The United States pushes for security guarantees for Ukraine that echo NATO Article 5 but would sit outside the alliance.

US Proposes NATO Style Guarantees for Ukraine

The United States has floated security guarantees for Ukraine that would be similar to NATO's Article 5 but not part of the alliance, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said after a call that included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. A diplomatic source cited by AFP described the option as a non-NATO Article 5 type guarantee reportedly agreed with Putin. The idea was raised during a call on Saturday with Trump, Zelenskiy, and European leaders, the day after Trump met with Putin. Meloni confirmed the concept and described it as a starting point for a clause that would allow Ukraine to benefit from the support of all its partners, including the United States, should Ukraine be attacked again.

The move signals how allies are exploring ways to bolster Ukraine’s security without triggering a full NATO membership process. It could reassure Kyiv while testing the limits of alliance cohesion and the U.S. political calculus at home. If defined clearly, such guarantees might become a practical bridge to broader support; if not, they risk creating ambiguity about who commits and how quickly. The timing also intersects with ongoing political dynamics in Washington and Europe, and it remains uncertain how legal and financial commitments would be structured.

Highlights

The next steps will reveal how far allies are willing to go without changing the core security architecture.