Nukes and NATO for Ukraine? In an eye-opening interview released today by Piers Morgan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed two things he believed would bring the war to a peaceful and just end: give him NATO membership and nuclear weapons.
Zelensky has apparently lost the ability to rationally assess the situation and is grasping at solutions no Western power will support.
The harsh truth: Ukraine has lost the war. The only rational thing left is for Ukraine to do is negotiate the best terms possible to end the war while diplomacy is still on the table. Wait too much longer, and the Russian military may one day win a military victory.
Morgan’s intent was to give Zelensky a chance to answer some criticism levied against him by Tucker Carlson in a recent debate with Morgan, and to ask him frankly what concessions Zelensky was prepared to make to bring the war to an end.
How Does the Ukraine War End?
The British talk show host repeated his strong believe that Putin was wholly in the wrong for starting a war of aggression, but, Morgan conceded, the realities on the battlefield made it apparent that Ukraine and the West would never drive Russians out of Ukraine. What, he asked Zelensky, would Ukraine be willing to cede to end the “hot phase” of the war?
Specifically, Morgan asked, whether he would give up some Ukrainian territory to reach a negotiated settlement with Moscow. “There can be no compromise in the sovereignty of the state,” Zelensky surprisingly stated. Yet when pressed, Zelensky admitted that, yes, he would have to negotiate away parts of his territory initially, but in the future, via diplomacy, “we will bring back our land.”
When asked how he would compel Putin diplomatically in the future to give back something he had won on the battlefield, Zelensky claimed that “if our partners help to put pressure on Putin… if President Trump, if Prime Minister Starmer, if members of the European Union, if representatives of the global south – the Arab States, China, Latin America – if they want to put pressure on President Putin, he will give everything back.” Zelensky didn’t explain how all of those states – especially China – would be willing at some distant point in the future to exert pressure on Moscow to surrender territory when they won’t presently do so.
Ukraine in NATO?
Morgan next turned to the thorny question of NATO membership. Russia has long claimed that it was the threat of NATO membership in Ukraine that compelled it to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Morgan said he rejected the claim, but conceded that since Russia believed it – and since Russia is in the superior military position – it seemed unlikely Russia would agree to a negotiated settlement to end the war that included Ukraine being invited into the Atlantic alliance.
How, then, did Zelensky plan to navigate that diplomatic difficulty? Apparently by simply ignoring reality. “I indeed believe that the fastest way to move to diplomacy,” Zelensky confidently replied, “is to guarantee a day Ukraine is accessed into NATO.”
The Ukrainian president literally ignored Morgan’s observation that Putin will never agree to a settlement that includes Ukraine in NATO, and instead simply stated it will eventually become true. Being detached from reality on the need to surrender territory and on the impossibility of receiving NATO membership was bad enough, but what came next was extraordinary by any measure.
Ukraine Wants Nuclear Weapons?
When asked how he could ensure the security of Ukraine after a deal was brokered, Zelensky said, without any recognition of the profound ramifications of what he was saying, “Give us back nuclear arms.” He wasn’t done there, however: “Give us missile systems – partners, help us finance the one million (man) army. Move your contingents (of European troops) onto the part of our state where we want the stability of the situation.”
Zelensky’s War with Reality
It’s hard to overstate how irrational Zelensky’s requests are.
He was being interviewed by a friendly host, who was entirely sympathetic to his plight, but who also painfully acknowledged that the balance of power between Russia and Ukraine was decisively in Russia’s favor. Zelensky was offered several opportunities to acknowledge basic ground truth reality, and describe a path to ending the war that the Russian side might at least consider.
Instead, he rejected giving up any territory, clung to the hope of receiving NATO membership, and then apparently believed someone in the Western world would actually consider giving such a man possession of nuclear weapons. This is not a person Trump wants to partner with when negotiating an end to the war with Putin.
By refusing to acknowledge the painful reality that his side has lost the war, he is subjecting Ukraine to even more unnecessary bloodshed and suffering. Consider what he’s asking his troops to do now: continue fighting, every day, knowing many of them will die or be maimed for life, to enable Zelensky to press for favorable negotiating terms that will never materialize. Trump should acknowledge that Zelensky is no longer capable of reaching rational decisions and move to negotiate with Putin directly.
Upon assuming office, Trump issued an “America First” foreign policy that stated he would “champion core American interests and always put America and American citizens first.” He should not rely on Zelensky to make the correct decisions on realistic terms to end the war, but ensure the interests of the United States take precedence.
NATO F-16. Image Credit: NATO Flickr.
Ukraine is a sovereign state and Trump cannot tell Zelensky what to do. But Trump can choose to negotiate with Putin on finding reasonable terms Russia might agree to that would end the conflict. Then Zelensky will have the option of accepting those terms, or the United States will cease its funding of the war and Ukraine will have to continue the war with its own resources. Likely, Ukraine wouldn’t be able to continue the war without U.S. help more than a few weeks.
Zelensky should never put his country and his Armed Forces into such a position or rejecting a negotiated end to the war that would also result in the loss of American support. But here is the ugly, harsh truth: there is no negotiation, there is no unexplored path, that will change this outcome: Ukraine has lost the war. Ignoring that fact will only get more Ukrainians killed. It is time to acknowledge reality and do the hard right thing.
About the Author:
Daniel L. Davis is a retired Army Lt. Col. with four combat deployments, a Senior Fellow at Defense Priorities & host of the Daniel Davis Deep Dive show on YouTube.
