Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic integration should be simultaneous - German expert

Partners should assist Ukraine in meeting the criteria for EU membership and provide reliable security guarantees, enabling the country to join not only the European Union but also NATO, without waiting for the end of the war.

Wilfried Jilge, an expert on Ukraine at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), said this in a comment to Ukrinform.

In the current situation, Jilge emphasized the importance of security guarantees, noting that the EU will not be able to accept a new member while the country is still at war. However, he argued that these guarantees should be structured in such a way that, even without NATO membership, American and European partners in NATO and the EU could offer substantial security support to Ukraine at the initial stage.

"First of all, the task of NATO partners is to provide real security guarantees - not only security assurances, but also guarantees that provide for specific security mechanisms for Ukraine and that should not be opposed to NATO membership," the expert said.

However, according to him, the concepts of reliable security guarantees have a real basis only on the condition of a sustainable ceasefire. However, at the moment the Kremlin does not show interest in a ceasefire, moreover - Putin has repeated his unacceptable conditions for Ukraine and has already rejected ideas from Trump's entourage about ending the war.

According to Jilge, the priority now is to expand military support for Ukraine, in particular from the Europeans, because it is they who should give the Trump administration a signal with concrete proposals that they will invest significantly more in their own security in the future, as well as make a greater contribution to military support for Ukraine. This is a prerequisite for the U.S. to continue supporting Ukraine. And only with greater military support and greater military capabilities and with a strong and united European voice (in coordination and with the involvement of such important European partners of Kyiv as the United Kingdom and Norway) can Ukraine be in a better position for negotiations on ending the war, the results of which properly take into account the interests of Ukraine and the interests of European security.

Jilge, like many others, is convinced that NATO membership is the best guarantee of security. At the same time, he called for realism, because there is no consensus in NATO on this.

"Therefore, we must now develop security models with the participation of those who want to move forward and want to give Ukraine truly reliable guarantees. Then we will have to discuss all models - from logistical support and the storage of weapons in case of emergencies to the presence of troops on the ground to ensure security. All this must be discussed now, but it must be thorough," the expert added.

"He believes it is possible that initially, when Ukraine's accession to NATO takes on concrete features, only territories controlled by Kyiv will fall under Article 5 of the NATO Charter. As for the temporarily occupied territories, for those that Ukraine may not be able to liberate by military means, a perspective should be created using other tools -- diplomacy, sanctions, as well as the attractiveness of a strong, well-developed European Ukraine."

Jilge made it clear that it is impossible to give up the territories occupied by the Russian aggressor, and certainly not to do so before the start of negotiations, because this issue affects the fundamental interests of Ukraine and Europe. For Ukrainians, it is not only about the territory itself, but above all about the fate of citizens who are victims of a cruel occupation policy aimed at destroying the very essence of Ukraine. For both Europeans and Ukrainians, the inviolability of borders is a fundamental prerequisite for sustainable security and peace on the European continent, he said.

At the same time, the expert does not entirely share the opinion of those who believe that NATO membership must necessarily precede EU membership, although for Jilge, integration into NATO before joining the EU would be "very desirable." In his opinion, one cannot wait with the EU accession process, solving exclusively military problems. Kyiv's European partners should make it clear that the discussion around the negotiation process about what to wait for is not in their interests.

"I think we need to do both," Jilge said, referring to the processes of European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

He also said that negotiations should be held now on compensation for war damages and the restoration of justice.

"If we don't do this, we will undermine the trust of Ukrainians in the European model of a legal state, because Ukrainians will tell us: you all demand that we carry out difficult reforms in the area of the rule of law, but you yourself are doing too little so that after the end of the war there is a prospect of restoring elementary justice," the expert said.

He admitted that everyone is a bit pessimistic at the moment, because Ukraine is in a difficult situation, but noted that in Russia "a lot is also not going well" and it is simply trying to convince everyone of its invincibility, that everything is fine in the country.