US security guarantees for Ukraine shift war rhetoric from 'stop at any cost' to 'Russia must be restrained by force' - Kondratiuk
US readiness to become a guarantor of Ukraine's security changes the rhetoric about stopping the war at any cost to the recognition that Russia must be restrained by force, believes Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratiuk.
"For the first time during Trump's term, the US readiness to provide Kyiv with strategic protection has been voiced. For the first time, Trump personally recognized that Ukraine's security is part of the strategic interests of the US and NATO. This changes the rhetoric: instead of "stopping the war at any cost" - the recognition that Russia must be restrained by force and guarantees, and not only by negotiations," Kondratiuk said on Facebook on Tuesday.
According to her, this is a signal for Kyiv that even without a quick accession to NATO, there is a realistic alternative that can be legally established.
"A kind of "NATO hybrid model:" legally not an Alliance, but politically - a signal that Ukraine will not be left alone," the vice-speaker emphasized.
According to Kondratiuk, now Ukrainian diplomacy needs to turn this promise into a concrete document with clear mechanisms.
"What could it be? A bilateral agreement with the US, similar to the US-South Korea, US-Japan agreements, where the States undertake to defend countries in the event of an attack? Trilateral or multilateral agreements: the US + key European countries (Britain, France, Germany)? A separate security bloc for Ukraine, integrated into NATO, but without formal membership? In any case, the negotiations in the US showed that Ukraine is on the side of good. That it is not alone. The most powerful countries in Europe are with it. This is not a guarantee, but a chance," Kondratiuk emphasized.
She also welcomes the fact that the US negotiations discussed the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia.
"It is good that the topic of returning abducted and deported children was raised at such a high-level meeting. Both Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen spoke about it. It is good that this extremely sensitive topic is also raised in the horizontal of the First Ladies," Kondratiuk said.
