Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during the briefing after a meeting with the new EU institutional leadership, indicated that if Ukraine joins NATO, Article 5 collective security guarantees might not apply to all Ukrainian territory.

An offer of NATO membership to territory under Kyiv’s control would end “the hot stage of the war” in Ukraine, but any proposal to join the military alliance should be extended to all parts of the country that fall under internationally recognized borders,