President Zelensky does not accept that only part of the territory is invited to NATO.

According to TASS, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on December 1 that Ukraine would never accept an invitation to part of the country to join NATO. Although a day earlier, Mr. Zelensky had allowed the "hot phase" of the conflict to stop, if the territories controlled by Ukraine were placed "under the auspices" of the alliance.

“A part of Ukraine cannot be invited to NATO. This is a recognition that all other parts of Ukraine are not Ukrainian. Therefore, Ukraine will never agree to this. If an invitation is made, Kiev will accept it only if all of Ukraine’s territories join NATO,” President Zelensky told reporters after a meeting with senior European officials in Kiev.

However, President Zelensky admitted that Ukraine has never received any proposals from NATO members.

“To be honest, there are a lot of insinuations and speculations in the press and media about what this “umbrella” could be. However, we have not received any such “umbrella” from our partners, any such territorial status from us,” President Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian leader called an invitation to join NATO “essential for Ukraine’s survival.” At the same time, Mr. Zelensky said that if Ukraine joined the alliance, it would not require activating Article 5 of the collective defense treaty.

“As I said, we understand that activating Article 5 only as a member of NATO cannot be used in times of war across Ukraine, because countries fear the risk of being dragged into a war. But Ukraine has never dragged anyone into this war. I am referring to what concerns the armies of NATO members,” Mr. Zelensky affirmed.