US ready to give Ukraine legally binding NATO Article 5 guarantees — Axios

According to a senior US official, the relevant agreement will be put to a vote in the US Congress. He noted that Washington seeks to offer Kyiv not a “blank check,” but a strong and real security guarantee.

“We want to give the Ukrainians a security guarantee that will not be a blank check on the one hand but will be strong enough on the other hand. We are willing to send it to Congress to vote on it,” the US official said.

The negotiation process will consist of three separate agreements - on peace, security guarantees, and post-war reconstruction. The latest rounds of negotiations, as the official noted, gave Ukraine a clear vision of “a full day-after vision” for the first time.

The US also stated that negotiations on economic recovery and reconstruction are progressing positively. Under the current proposal, the war should end with Ukraine retaining sovereignty over about 80% of its territory, receiving “ the biggest and strongest security guarantee it has ever got” and a large-scale economic support package.

At the same time, several European leaders advised President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to rush into an agreement, especially if it involves territorial concessions. It also remains unclear whether Russia will agree to accept the American proposals.

Peace plan

The initial US peace plan, which essentially reflected the Russian approach, consisted of 28 points and was unacceptable to Ukraine and its European partners.

Following consultations between the Ukrainian and American delegations, changes were made to the framework document to make it more acceptable to Kyiv, reducing the plan to 20 points.

The issue of territories remains the most difficult. Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine does not allow the transfer of any part of its territory, as this contradicts both national legislation and international law.

Kyiv recently sent the US its response to the updated plan, offering additional ideas for resolving contentious issues. The document was prepared jointly with European partners, but the final version is not yet available.

According to Zelenskyy, this is not a single text, but a package of documents, most of which are still being finalized and depend on the final format of the basic 20-point plan.