Finnish President Alexander Stubb suggested that Ukraine should be granted de facto NATO membership, meaning that if Russia violates a future ceasefire or launches another attack, Ukraine would immediately become a member of the alliance.
“Why not give them de facto NATO membership, meaning that when negotiations succeed and a peace deal is signed, if Russia breaks that agreement, Ukraine automatically joins NATO?” Stubb stated in an interview with CNN, as reported by Digi24.
He described the proposal as a strong safety net to ensure Russia adheres to any peace deal.
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This idea was originally introduced by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham at the Munich Security Conference in February. Graham, a close ally of Trump, argued that while immediate NATO accession might not be possible for Ukraine, a clear deterrent must be established.
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A European summit on Ukraine is set to take place in Brussels this week, where defense cooperation will be a key topic.
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Although Finland’s proposal may face resistance, it signals growing European willingness to support Ukraine in deterring future Russian aggression.
If implemented, it could reshape NATO’s strategy and reinforce the West’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty.
What’s the difference to an actual NATO membership?
If they joined immediately, NATO would have to directly engage Russia now – which would be bad, especially with the US being shitty right now.
If they predicate membership on a Russian attack it will defer and potentially remove that risk. Seems like a solid idea to me.
NATO will probably need Ukraine at least as much as Ukraine needs NATO. If Russia invaded the Suwalki Gap or Gotland, beating them back would be a lot harder without Ukrainian expertise. And keeping them out in the first place will be easier with Ukraine on board.
A much easier solution would surely be to offer the EU mutual defence clause which is stronger than article 5 of the NATO treaty.
It’s going to be Europe on it’s own anyway and we all know it.
Bacause in the case of “Future Russian Aggression” NATO will find literally THOUSANDS reasons why Ukraine can’t join or why that “Agression” isn’t agressive enough to call the 5th article.
I don’t see Putin ever agreeing to this but maybe I’m too pessimistic
I would say that it is absolutely irrelevant whether or not Putin agrees to anything, because he won’t stick to his word anyway.
