### Zelensky Floats NATO Membership for Controlled Territories to End 'Hot Phase' of War

In a bold proposal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that ending the active phase of the war with Russia could be achieved by granting NATO membership to territories currently under Ukrainian government control. Speaking to Sky News, Zelensky emphasized that an invitation would need to recognize Ukraine's internationally accepted borders.

In the interview published on November 29, Zelensky highlighted the urgency of taking Ukrainian-controlled territories under the NATO umbrella as a prerequisite for halting active combat. "If we want to stop the hot stage of the war, we should quickly take under NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control. That's what we need to do first, and then Ukraine can get back the other parts of its territory in a diplomatic way," Zelensky said.

This idea, he noted, had never been officially proposed to Kyiv before. The statement marks a shift from Zelensky's prior stance, where he dismissed the possibility of gaining NATO membership for parts of the country as "nonsense" and firmly stated that Ukraine "will never exchange any status for any of our territories." His latest comments imply that regions currently occupied by Russian forces—such as Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts—would not be included under the proposed NATO protection.

The situation on the battlefield remains dynamic. On the same day as Zelensky's interview, Ukraine's General Staff announced successful strikes on Russian targets. They claimed to have hit an oil depot in Russia's Rostov Oblast and destroyed a Buk-M3 radar station in Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast. According to the General Staff, the Atlas oil depot, which is part of Russia's military-industrial complex and supplies petroleum products to the Russian army, suffered fires due to the attack. This oil depot had previously been targeted in the summer of 2024.

Additionally, the destruction of the Buk-M3 radar station marks another strategic blow to Russian forces, who have faced increasing drone attacks from Ukraine. These attacks are part of Kyiv's broader strategy to exhaust Russian combat capabilities and target critical infrastructure from afar.

As the conflict continues, the international community remains watchful of Zelensky's proposals and the evolving situation on the ground.