Kremlin Revives Old Ultimatum: Ukraine Can Join EU Only if It Stays Out of Military Alliances

Russia would accept Ukraine joining the European Union but insists Kyiv must stay out of all military alliances, including European ones, Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky reportedly told negotiators during closed-door talks in Abu Dhabi. According to sources cited by the Ukrainian news outlet Gordon, Medinsky, a Kremlin aide leading Russia’s delegation, complained about NATO’s eastward expansion during the second day of trilateral negotiations involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. He claimed that Western countries had made commitments not to expand NATO after the collapse of the Soviet Union but subsequently allowed several former Soviet bloc countries to join the alliance. Russia no longer trusts Western promises or declarations about NATO’s non-expansion, Medinsky reportedly said. Regarding Ukraine’s future security arrangements, he said Moscow had no objection to Kyiv joining the EU, provided it did not participate in “any military alliances – not just NATO, but European ones as well.” This is not the first time Moscow has proposed separating Ukraine’s EU ambitions from its security arrangements. In February 2025, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged that Ukraine had the sovereign right to join the European Union, while insisting that Moscow had a different position on military alliances. “It is completely different when it comes to security issues and military alliances,” he said. Other Topics of Interest Putin Appoints 8 More Judges in Occupied Ukraine, Military Intel Says Russia has appointed 665 judges in occupied Ukraine since 2023, HUR says, accusing Moscow of using courts to repress residents and strip them of rights. In June 2025, Russia went further, presenting Ukraine with a memorandum during negotiations in Istanbul that demanded Ukrainian neutrality and a ban on joining military alliances or coalitions. It also called for restrictions on the size of Ukraine’s armed forces and the types and quantities of weapons it could possess. The document also demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from four partially occupied regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – as a condition for a ceasefire. The memorandum echoed Moscow’s maximalist demands from the failed 2022 negotiations in Istanbul, which also sought to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO or any other military alliance. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated the Kremlin’s position in April 2025, saying Ukraine would have to abandon its NATO ambitions and adopt neutral status as part of a peace settlement. Moscow also demanded international recognition of its claims to Crimea and four other Ukrainian regions. Following the Abu Dhabi negotiations, the US delegation is heading to Moscow, where envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are reportedly expected to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The American representatives are then scheduled to travel to Dublin, Ireland, late Wednesday, to brief the Ukrainian delegation on the outcome of their discussions with Putin. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.