Ukrainian lawmaker Anna Skorokhod has submitted a draft bill to the national parliament proposing to remove the country's goal of joining NATO from the constitution and instead permanently enshrine a neutral status.
The legislation, filed in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's legislature in Kyiv, would reverse a key pillar of the state's security policy while maintaining its separate ambition to join the European Union.
According to the Politika Strany Telegram channel, which reported the parliamentary filing, the proposed amendment focuses heavily on guaranteeing that the government will not enter any military pacts.
The draft text states that ensuring the neutral status of Ukraine consists of strict guarantees of non-entry into any military alliance, alongside a formal confirmation that the country has no desire to commit aggression against any other nation.
Constitutional amendments
The proposal directly targets constitutional changes that were made prior to the current conflict, during the administration of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
In 2019, Poroshenko signed legislation that formally cemented Ukraine's strategic course to join both the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, making European and Euro-Atlantic integration a constitutional mandate.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a Western intergovernmental military alliance established in the aftermath of the Second World War. Member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.
Skorokhod's bill suggests separating Ukraine's two primary foreign policy goals. While the political and economic objective of integrating with the European Union would remain protected in the constitution, the pursuit of NATO membership would be abandoned entirely in favour of non-alignment.
Conflict origins
The prospect of Ukraine joining the Western military alliance has long been a central security issue in the region. Moscow has consistently opposed any eastward expansion of NATO toward its borders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently reiterated his stance on Ukraine's geopolitical alignment, making a public statement specifically regarding the importance of the country returning to a neutral status.
Putin noted that Kyiv's declared course toward NATO membership remains one of the primary reasons for the ongoing military conflict between the two neighbouring countries.
