Zelensky Finally Steps Back From NATO

Gratitude belongs where it fits. Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to step away from NATO ambitions as the Berlin peace talks heat back up deserves acknowledgment.

Zelensky's move lowers the temperature, opening a door that has been locked for far too long, offering a chance, however fragile, for Ukrainians to stop burying sons and fathers, while Europe pretends endless escalation carries no cost.

Despite those feelings of gratitude, it does no good when trying to erase memories.

Now, Zelensky is speaking of a "dignified peace," language that sounds reasonable until it's weighed against years of absolutism.

The move marks a major shift for Ukraine, which has fought to join NATO as a safeguard against Russian attacks and has such an aspiration included in its constitution. It also meets one of Russia's war aims, although Kyiv has so far held firm against ceding territory to Moscow.

Zelenskiy met the U.S. envoys at talks hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who, a source said, had made brief remarks before leaving the two sides to negotiate. Other European leaders are also due in Germany on Monday for talks.

Becoming a member of NATO was sacred to Zelensky, even as cities burned and the country lost so many good men. Anyone urging compromise met lectures about mortality, rather than answers about outcomes.

There comes a moment when a leader reaches a point where slogans collide with math: Zelensky reached that point moments too late.

Does obstinance flow from one man or from a tight inner circle insulated by applause abroad? Western leaders rewarded defiance with weapons, money, and standing ovations. A fawning media crowned Zelensky, then treated any questions as a form of betrayal.

Restraint rarely survives under those conditions, and tyranny doesn't always arrive wearing boots and armbands. Sometimes tyranny arrives wrapped in moral certainty, convinced suffering proves righteousness.

Zelensky governed by an emergency decree for years; elections disappeared and political opponents faded into silence, while the media faced discipline.

War justifies harsh measures, but prolonged war turns temporary power into habit. A good leader seeks early peace, a mediocre leader delays, and a lousy tyrant clings to posture until reality hits him over the head with a mallet.

NATO expansion stopped being a lever once it became a fantasy, because Russian President Vladimir Putin has always demanded that Ukraine drop the idea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine officially renounce its NATO ambitions and withdraw troops from the about 10% of Donbas which Kyiv still controls. Moscow has also said that Ukraine must be a neutral country and that no NATO troops can be stationed in Ukraine.

Russian sources said earlier this year that Putin wants a "written" pledge by major Western powers not to enlarge the U.S.-led NATO alliance eastwards - shorthand for formally ruling out membership to Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other former Soviet republics.

European patience thinned, American voters asked harder questions, and funding fatigue grew louder. The war shifted from a moral crusade to a ledger sheet: Zelensky adjusted because he was forced to, not because he suddenly turned into a wise man.

Context matters.

Despite his joyride through the West, credit still applies: Dropping the NATO demand removed a central obstacle to talks, acknowledged limits long denied. Ukrainians benefit most from that concession, even if pride took a hit. What the country's leaders forgot is that leaders exist to serve people, not narratives, and when they forget that distinction, history tends to correct them extremely harshly.

Regardless of his change, people remain skeptical because Zelensky's record invites it. One good decision doesn't erase years of absolutism, or transform a strongman into a statesman overnight.

Peace requires follow-through, restraint, and humility, qualities Zelensky hasn't consistently shown.

We'll quickly know if his intent is serious if the Berlin talks continue, and gratitude grows. If his habit of turning theatrical comes back, we'll see justified derision. War demands honesty and punishes illusion. Zelensky learned that lesson late, but hopefully not too late.

Better late than never still counts. Just not as heroism.

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