'NATO umbrella' for government-controlled territories could end hot stage of war - Zelensky

The head of state said this in an interview with SkyNews, which was published on the YouTube channel of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

Zelensky emphasized that any invitation to NATO must apply to Ukraine as a whole, within its internationally recognized borders.

"No one has offered us to be in NATO for one part or another part of Ukraine. The fact is, it is a solution to stop the hot stage of the war because we can just give NATO membership to the part of Ukraine that is under our control. But the invitation must be given to Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. […] That's what we need to do fast and then Ukraine can get back the other part of its territory diplomatically," Zelensky said.

He noted that offering NATO membership to only part of Ukraine would imply that "only this part is Ukraine, while the rest belongs to Russia."