Zelenskyy Said Ukraine Could Join Nato Without Article 5 Applying To Its Occupied Territory

Zelenskyy said Article 5 might not apply to all of Ukraine's territory if it joins NATO, to not drag other member states into war.Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty ImagesVolodymyr Zelenskyy has been pushing this week for NATO to invite Ukraine to join its alliance.He said on Sunday that NATO's self-defense pact wouldn't have to apply to Ukraine's occupied territory.His proposals come amid anticipation that Trump's incoming team will stall Ukraine's NATO accession.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that his country could join NATO without the alliance's collective self-defense agreement applying to its territory occupied by Russia.That suggestion means that Article 5, which states that an attack on one member state is an attack on all, wouldn't automatically drag the rest of the alliance into war with Moscow if Ukraine joins.Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said that any invitation for Ukraine to join NATO still has to recognize all of its territory as Ukrainian, including areas occupied by Russia.He said his reason was that NATO/the alliance couldn't extend an invitation to only a "part of the territory of Ukraine," per Ukrainian media.Zelenskyy added that Ukraine "would never accept" an accession plan that says otherwise."But we understand that Article 5, when you're a member of NATO, cannot apply to the entire territory of Ukraine during wartime, as countries are against the risks of being drawn into the war," he said.Such a proposal could essentially split Ukraine into two regions as far as NATO is concerned.