Media: U.S. Ready to Provide Ukraine with NATO-Style Article 5 Security Guarantees

The United States has claimed that it is ready to offer Ukraine legally binding security guarantees similar to NATO’s Article 5 as part of a possible peace agreement.

Axios reported this, citing sources.

The issue will be discussed at a meeting in Berlin on Monday, December 15, involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, advisers to U.S. President Donald Trump – Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – and leaders of key European countries.

“We want to give Ukrainians a security guarantee that is not a blank check, but is still strong enough. We are prepared to submit it to Congress for approval,” the source shared.

A U.S. official added that three separate agreements would be signed – one on peace, one on security guarantees, and one on reconstruction. He said the latest talks, for the first time, gave Ukrainians a clear understanding of what comes next.

A White House official who spoke to Axios said that during public remarks on December 11, Zelensky proposed holding a referendum in Ukraine on a peace agreement and a possible withdrawal from the Donbas, adding that the United States views this as “progress.”

“Under the current proposal, the war would end with Ukraine retaining sovereignty over 80% of its territory, receiving the strongest and most robust security guarantees it has ever had, and a very substantial package of measures to ensure prosperity,” he added.

At the same time, European leaders are advising Zelensky not to rush into an agreement, especially one that would force him to give up territory that Ukraine has not actually lost on the battlefield. It is also unclear whether Russia would be willing to accept the new U.S. proposals.

Guarantees or ‘assurances’?

According to ZN.ua, which reviewed a new version of “Trump’s peace plan” delivered by the United States to Ukraine after a meeting between Trump’s special envoy Witkoff and Russian dictator Putin, the document refers not to “guarantees” but to “assurances.” It is worth noting that the document seen by journalists was a version prior to amendments and proposals submitted by Ukraine following consultations with European partners.

Journalists have discovered that in this document, the word “assurance” is used throughout, including in the title, just as in the Budapest Memorandum. The document states that it creates conditions for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia and provides security “assurances” modeled on NATO’s Article 5.

This framework agreement is not legally binding and does not require ratification by the parliaments of its signatories.

If an attack is significant, deliberate, and prolonged, the President of the United States, after immediate consultations with Ukraine, NATO, and European partners, will determine what measures need to be taken to “restore security.”

In the list of possible responses to an aggressor proposed in the document, measures include the use of armed forces, intelligence operations, logistical support, economic, diplomatic, and other actions that the U.S. President considers necessary. A joint mechanism with NATO and Ukraine will also be established to assess each alleged violation by Russia.

It is also worth noting that even NATO’s Article 5 is not legally binding in its wording. It provides only for “such action as it deems necessary” in the event of an attack on one of the Alliance’s members.

“The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all; accordingly, they agree that if such an attack occurs, each of them, exercising its right of individual or collective self-defense as recognized in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties attacked and will immediately take, individually or in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.” Article 5 of the NATO Treaty reads.