Ukraine's Foreign Ministry Pushes to Join NATO While Ukrainian Politician Calls for Nuclear Weapons | 3 Dec 2024 | On Tuesday, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry published a statement declaring that the country would not accept any alternatives to joining NATO, stating "security guarantees" are not enough. At the same time, Ukrainian member of parliament Aleksey Goncharenko argued that even joining NATO is not enough, stating that Ukraine should have nuclear weapons. "Having the bitter experience of the Budapest Memorandum behind us, we will not settle for any alternatives, surrogates, or substitutes for Ukraine's full membership in NATO," the statement said, according to the Kyiv Independent on Tuesday. Foreign ministers of NATO member states are meeting in Brussels, Belgium, December 3 and 4. Ukraine will also be in attendance. Ukraine hopes NATO will issue a membership invitation during the meeting. Reuters reported, however, that it is unlikely NATO membership will be granted. Russia has made it clear that one of their "red lines" is Ukraine joining NATO. Another one of Russia's "red lines" is Ukraine being armed with nuclear weapons.