Axios: US proposes NATO Article 5-style security pact for Ukraine

A US-drafted plan to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict envisages providing Kyiv with security guarantees modeled on NATO’s collective-defense Article 5.

According to the document, this framework sets the conditions for an armistice between Ukraine and the Russian Federation and establishes a security assurance modeled on the principles of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, adapted to the specific circumstances of this conflict and the interests of the United States and its European partners, Axios reports.

The draft requires signatures from Ukraine, the US, the EU, NATO and Russia. A senior White House official said Moscow had been informed of the proposal, though it remains unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signature would ultimately be needed.

The security guarantee would be valid for the first ten years and could be extended by mutual agreement.

In addition to providing a security guarantee, the 28-point plan proposes a demilitarised zone between Ukrainian and Russian-held territories in the east.

Under the plan, Russia would take control of the entire Donbas region, while lines of control in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia would largely remain frozen.

NATO troops would not be stationed on Ukrainian soil, and Ukraine’s military would be capped at 600,000 personnel — smaller than its current force of roughly 800,000–850,000, but far larger than its pre-war peacetime size of about 250,000.

Zelensky characterized the plan as the US “vision” rather than a final proposal, emphasizing that Ukraine had clearly defined its red lines and would provide feedback to ensure the plan is “truly meaningful.”

Along with the territorial concessions requested from Ukraine, the document states that a “decisive coordinated military response” would follow any further Russian incursions into Ukrainian territory. It does not specify what role the US would play in such a response.

By Jeyhun Aghazada