Zelenskyy of Ukraine argues that joining NATO is essential to putting an end to the conflict with Russia

Despite reluctance from Western partners, Zelenskyy has pushed for Ukraine to join NATO in order to end the conflict before the end of the year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that peace could return next year as a result of his plan to combat Russia’s invasion. His plan does, however, include a requirement that several important Western allies have not yet agreed to: Ukraine’s bid to join NATO prior to the conflict’s end.

He has recently been trying to get Western allies to accept his plan, although they haven’t done so openly yet.

“We may be able to end the war by next year if we begin to move in accordance with this victory plan now,” Zelenskyy said.

The most ambitious and likely to elicit reluctance from Western partners is the first of Zelenskyy’s five points, which he made in an address to the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada: permitting Ukraine to join NATO as long as the war is still going on.

According to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, admitting Ukraine to the alliance would show how strongly the allies support Ukraine.

The foundation of NATO’s legitimacy is the collective security guarantee included in Article 5 of its treaty. This political pledge guarantees that every member nation will support any member whose territory or sovereignty is at jeopardy.