(MENAFN) US Senator Lindsey Graham stated that security guarantees for Ukraine cannot include NATO membership or the stationing of nuclear weapons, responding to an op-ed by Ukraine’s former top military commander, Valery Zaluzhny, according to reports.

In his article published in The Telegraph on Saturday, Zaluzhny—now Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK—argued that “effective security guarantees” could involve NATO accession, placing nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory, or deploying a substantial allied military force capable of confronting Russia.

Graham countered on X the following day, calling the proposals “far beyond what is possible.” He emphasized: “It is imperative at this critical time that any analysis should meet the test of what is reasonably possible. The security guarantees mentioned, including accession into NATO and placing nuclear weapons in Ukraine, will not fly in my view.”

Ukraine applied for NATO membership in 2022, and some European nations, including the UK and France, have expressed willingness to deploy a multinational force after a ceasefire is achieved. However, the US has ruled out both NATO membership for Ukraine and the deployment of American troops.

Russia has demanded that Ukraine abandon its NATO ambitions in favor of neutrality and has warned that the presence of nuclear weapons or Western forces on Ukrainian soil could provoke a war with NATO.

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