“Ready to exchange Belgorod for membership in NATO”

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, answering the question about possible territorial concessions for the country’s membership in NATO, said that for the opportunity to join the North Atlantic Alliance, Ukraine is ready to exchange only the Russian city of Belgorod.

The corresponding statement was made at a joint press conference between Zelenskyi and the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, during a visit to the Skridstrup Air Base.

A few hours before that, Zelensky visited the Netherlands, where, answering journalists’ questions, he ruled out the possibility of “exchange of anything” on Ukrainian territory.

At the beginning of the week, the head of the NATO Secretary General’s office, Stian Jensen, said that in order to achieve peace, Ukraine could give up part of the territories occupied by Russia, and in return, the country would get a real chance to join the North Atlantic Alliance.

The official’s statement caused a public outcry in Ukraine. Later, after criticism from representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, Jensen called his words “a mistake”, explaining that they were uttered in the context of “a broad discussion about possible future scenarios”.

However, even without that, a number of Western politicians have recently spoken about the inability of Ukraine to liberate the occupied territories by military means and about the inevitability of entering into negotiations with the Kremlin. Kyiv reacts negatively to such statements.

• The Belgorod region of Russia, bordering Ukraine, and the city of Belgorod are regularly shelled by the Armed Forces, and fighters of the so-called Russian Volunteer Corps and the “Freedom of Russia” legion, fighting on the side of Ukraine, made several raids in the region, as a result of which Russian border guards were killed and captured military equipment. Residents of the Belgorod Region have repeatedly appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to protect them and protect them from war. At the same time, the authorities of the region call on local residents to evacuate to safer places, and in Belgorod itself, temporary accommodation points for displaced persons are open.
• Ukraine has not made any territorial claims to Russia and emphasizes that its goal is to restore its borders at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. According to these internationally recognized borders, Crimea and four oblasts of Ukraine, the annexation of which was announced by Russia, are Ukrainian, and Belgorod oblast belongs to Russia.