Ukraine’s Allies also Warn against ‘Hollow’ Security Guarantees

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been consistently beating the drum of security guarantees for his country ever since the beginning of the tripartite peace negotiations.

For him and the Ukrainian nation, that has suffered the wanton brutality of Russian invaders for centuries, security guarantees that would create a lasting, impenetrable border around Ukraine is the starting point for peace negotiations. Without wholehearted American support for such a Ukrainian demand, Ukraine would face ongoing Russian danger and the nation would suffer additional bloodshed and deaths.

This demand has been echoed by European nations.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, among others, emphasized in his speech at the Munich Security Conference that future security guarantees for Ukraine must not meet the same fatal fate as the Budapest Memorandum on nuclear arms, which Russia has continuously violated. The German official noted that as the potential ceasefire approaches, it will be necessary to ensure that any peace is lasting.

“We will have to protect Ukraine from any potential future aggression by Russia. For this major task, Ukraine needs substantial and reliable security guarantees,” Pistorius said. “For this major task, Ukraine needs substantial and reliable security guarantees." the German defense minister emphasized.

“So the lesson for us, ladies and gentlemen, must be that we must not allow another ‘paper tiger’ like the Budapest Memorandum. And in order to provide credible security guarantees, all of us – all of us, both Europe and the United States – must contribute. Europe and Germany are ready to do their part,” Pistorius said.

The German official enunciated the link between security guarantees for Ukraine and Germany.

“When it comes to the future of Ukraine, three points are crucial in my view. First, we will keep looking for paths to a reliable peace because Ukraine's future is fundamental not just to European security, but to global security. We need a peace deal that safeguards both Ukraine's and our European interests,” Pistorius said.

He emphasized that the next point is the need to increase pressure on Russia, which shows no willingness to compromise.

“The ball is in Putin’s court. He is the one who is dragging out negotiations and is showing no willingness to compromise. He is shifting the cost of war to his own people. But he must not be mistaken. We will continue doing everything in our power to protect Ukraine as an independent, sovereign European nation. We will keep up the pressure politically, economically, and militarily,” Pistorius said.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys on February 14 dismissed the concept of Article 5-like security guarantees that Ukraine is negotiating with the West, urging realistic solutions instead of “hollow” promises.

"There can be nothing similar to Article 5… Because Article 5 means that if you are in trouble, I promise you that I will come and if it is needed, I will die for you,” he told the Kyiv Independent in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Any other approximations such as like and sort-of are mere “rhetorical expressions,” according to Lithuania’s chief diplomat.

NATO’s Article 5 states that an attack against one member is an attack against all, and that allies vow to provide assistance, including through military means.

The Trump administration has signaled its readiness to provide “almost assurances” to Ukraine as part of peace talks, sparking debate over their reliability and whether they could weaken NATO’s credibility.

“Real security guarantees mean forces that are coming to support Ukraine. If not, then there are other measures,” Budrys said, naming future EU membership or financial support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces as more realistic options.

To ensure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, Kyiv’s partners must “invest in this process” and “avoid hollow structures and some fake agreements and guarantees,” the minister added.

As for the war, which is nearing its fourth anniversary, at least 13 people were injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day, local authorities said on February 16. Russian forces attacked Ukraine with four Zirkon anti-ship hypersonic missiles, an Iskander-M ballistic missile, a Kh-31 medium-range missile, and 62 drones, of which about 40 were Shahed-type, the Air Force said. Ukrainian forces downed two Zircon missiles and 52 drones. At least nine drones and a missile made it through, striking eight locations. The fall of debris was recorded in two locations, the report read.