The Kremlin has described Ukraine’s push to join NATO as one of the “root causes” of the conflict. Russia sees an expanding NATO as a major security threat. But NATO’s expansion into the Baltics and other post-Soviet states is driven by a fear that Moscow would one day invade and try to fold them back under its control—as seen in Ukraine.

During negotiations with U.S. envoys over a potential Ukraine-Russia peace deal, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday offered to drop Ukraine's NATO aspirations.

US President Donald Trump says a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine is “closer than ever” after US, Ukrainian, European and NATO leaders met in Berlin for hours of talks on a potential settlement.