“For any conditions made by [Ukraine President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy to be realistic, they will need to have the buy-in of Ukrainians who have lived in the shadow of an increasingly aggressive neighbour for a long time and have now seen their worst fears come to fruition. A neutral Ukraine would no longer be a NATO partner, although other neutral states, notably Finland and Sweden, are NATO partners. Such a pathway to NATO membership, however unlikely it is to be fulfilled, will be a red line for Putin who views Ukraine differently. For Putin, Ukraine is part of an imagined 'Russian World' or community built on the markers of the Russian language, culture and a 'common glorious past' in a way Finland and Sweden are not, and this has been a driving motivation behind the decision to invade Ukraine. A neutral Ukraine would need to seek security ties outside of NATO to prevent a recurrence of an invasion, given Russia is the aggressor this would need to come from them, but Ukraine would likely look to other members of the UN Security Council [China, France, UK, US] to help uphold this.”

by: Katharine AM Wright