US Senator Lindsey Graham has labelled security proposals by Valery Zaluzhny, Kiev’s former top military commander and now its ambassador to the UK, as unreasonable.

In an opinion piece published in The Telegraph on Saturday, Ambassador Zaluzhny advocated for including NATO membership or nuclear weapons deployment within Ukraine’s potential security guarantees. He wrote that options such as NATO accession, stationing nuclear arms on Ukrainian territory, or having a large allied military contingent were imperative.

Responding the following day on X, Graham condemned these ideas explicitly, stating they are “far beyond what is possible” and dismissive of realistic solutions. “Any analysis should meet the test of what is reasonably possible… The security guarantees mentioned… will not fly in my view,” he asserted without qualification regarding nuclear weapons or NATO membership.

The debate highlights existing tensions: Ukraine formally applied to join NATO in 2022, although European allies like the UK and France have indicated readiness for a multinational force following any ceasefire with Russia – provided such conditions are agreed upon by Moscow. The United States has maintained its opposition to both admitting Ukraine into NATO or deploying American troops there.

Moscow insists on Ukraine adopting neutrality instead of continuing its membership bid. Furthermore, Russia explicitly forbids the establishment of allied military forces and nuclear weapons anywhere in the country under threat of conflict with NATO.