Zelenskiy Hints US Guarantees May Stand in Place of NATO Bid

Steve Witkoff, second left, greets Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, in this photograph released by the German Government Press Office (BPA) on Dec. 14.Photographer: Guido Bergmann/Bundesregierung/Getty Images

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By Olesia Safronova

December 14, 2025 at 11:43 AM UTC

Updated on

December 14, 2025 at 9:12 PM UTC

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signaled that Ukraine could accept security guarantees from the US and Europe as a way to prevent future Russian aggression, and substitute for its long-term goal of joining NATO.

Ukraine’s leader met at Germany’s Federal Chancellery in Berlin on Sunday with a US delegation led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, along with several national security advisers from Europe.