Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has once again demanded his country be granted NATO membership, this time hinting he would be open to negotiating a peace deal with Russia in return. This is a stark contrast to his previous assertions that Ukraine would not stop fighting until it reclaimed the roughly 20 percent of land that Russia had seized. He also acknowledged that his country does not have “enough forces” to reclaim all territories currently occupied by Russia and must “seek diplomatic means” to resolve the conflict and regain this land.

After GOP President-elect Donald Trump won the United States' November election, Zelensky has indicated more of a desire to have the years-long war with Russia come to an end, even stating the conflict will end "faster" under Trump's leadership in the US. Trump has pledged to end the war within 24 hours and expressed plans to pull back on US military aid to Ukraine, which could pressure Zelensky to prioritize diplomacy at this time. Zelensky suggested in recent interviews and statements that he would accept a ceasefire agreement that would surrender Ukraine's occupied territory to the Kremlin, the Wall Street Journal reported.

However, in a Sunday news conference, the Ukrainian president said his country would only do so if Ukraine comes out of the deal in a stronger position than it was previously, with a NATO membership and more Western-made weapons in its artillery.

"If we’ll have [a] frozen conflict without any strong position for Ukraine, so Putin will come in two, three or five years," Zelensky said. "He will come back and destroy us totally. Or try to destroy us."

On Friday, he had told Sky News that after a potential ceasefire agreement, Kyiv would continue to claim the occupied territory as its own and would reportedly seek to "get [Russia] back in a diplomatic way."
 

In a Tuesday interview with a Japanese news agency, detailed by Ukraine's state-run outlet Ukrinform, Zelensky said, “We do not have enough forces to return Crimea. Our army does not have enough forces. We must seek diplomatic means, but [this will be possible] only after we know that we are so strong that the Russians will not return with aggression again. Then we can think about diplomatic steps.”

Zelensky highlighted the “strategic” importance of Crimea, noting that control of the region impacts Black Sea security and global food supply chains. He highlighted how Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea blocked the Black Sea and agricultural products from Ukraine did not reach countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe.

While Zelensky emphasized Ukraine's intent to regain all occupied territories, he noted that diplomacy is now the preferred method, saying, “will return to all our occupied lands, preferably through diplomatic channels, because all this minimizes casualties.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in another Monday interview declined to comment on the possibility of Ukraine gaining membership to the alliance. "The main issue with Ukraine has to be, ‘How do we get more military aid into Ukraine?’ That’s priority number one, two and three," Rutte said. "In the meantime, that bridge to NATO membership is being built" through bilateral security agreements with member countries and other efforts, he said, per WSJ.

Russia's army has advanced faster in eastern Ukraine in the last couple of months than at any other point since the war started. Additionally, Moscow just approved the largest defense budget in Russian history, leaving President Vladimir Putin with confidence to continue seizing Ukrainian territory and leaving Zelensky with dwindling hope. There has been little indication that Putin is open to negotiating even if his Ukrainian counterpart is willing.
 

Still, Ukraine has repeatedly called for increased Western support, citing the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Ukraine surrendered its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security assurances from Western nations. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry marked the memorandum’s 30th anniversary by urging the West to strengthen its security guarantees.

“This mistake must be corrected. Ukraine must be provided with clear, legally binding security guarantees that align with its significant contribution to global nuclear disarmament and the maintenance of international peace and security,” the Foreign Ministry said. “We call on the United States and the United Kingdom, signatories to the Budapest Memorandum, France and China, which have acceded to it, and all states-parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to support the provision of effective security guarantees to Ukraine.”

The Foreign Ministry has also emphasized Ukraine’s agenda to join NATO, saying the country “will not accept any alternatives, surrogates or substitutes for Ukraine’s full membership in NATO.”