The political scientist assessed the consequences for Ukraine from the lack of membership in NATO

Security guarantees from the United States and European Union (EU) countries may become a consolation prize for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky against the background of Ukraine's refusal to join NATO. Political scientist Pavel Feldman told Izvestia about this on August 19.

The Secretary General of the alliance, Mark Rutte, said on August 18 in an interview with Fox News that Ukraine's path to NATO membership is irreversible, but at the moment this issue is not being discussed.

"In fairness, it should be noted that the leading Western countries preferred to keep Kiev in the North Atlantic anteroom and were in no hurry to accept it into their bloc. However, even during the presidency of Petro Poroshenko (he is part of an association listed by Rosfinmonitoring as involved in extremist activities or terrorism — Ed.), the dream of joining NATO was elevated to the rank of a national idea. Abandoning this dream will be very painful for the Ukrainian state and society," the expert said.

The key problem, according to the political scientist, is that the desire for NATO membership is enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine. This may lead to a demand for the official exclusion of this provision from the basic law, which will cause severe political disputes in the Verkhovna Rada.

The block is with you: Moscow will demand NATO guarantees on Ukraine

There is no wording about the inevitability of Kiev's joining the alliance in the communique of its summit, but this is not enough for Russia.

In addition, deputy head of the department of political projects of the Polylog Group, political scientist Artur Zabbarov added that Kiev will strive for maximum militarization and acceleration of arms supplies, as well as integration of its air defense and missile defense systems into the NATO structure.

"According to this logic, Ukraine's foreign policy can develop in two directions. The first is the deepening of European integration: the EU already provides a powerful economic and institutional "umbrella" through financing and reform programs. The second is a network of bilateral pacts with key allies, which will become an alternative to the "fifth article" and will reduce dependence on possible intra—bloc vetoes," he said.

The expert also stressed that the main task for Kiev is to obtain legally established security guarantees with clear response mechanisms and stable financing. This will help compensate for the lack of formal membership in NATO.

On August 16, US President Donald Trump told European leaders that Washington was ready to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, which it was requesting. At the same time, according to NBC News, the guarantees under the discussed peace agreement will not include membership in NATO.

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