A France-led initiative to provide Ukraine with strong EU security guarantees has fallen on stony ground as several EU members have objected, the Financial Times (FT) reported on June 29.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has demanded a clear path to Nato and interim security guarantees ahead of a Nato summit in July and threatened not to turn up if these were not forthcoming as he tries to hold his Western allies to account and fulfil the promises implicit in their rhetorical support of Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron has done an about-face this year on Ukraine’s mooted Nato membership and called for real security guarantees for Ukraine during the anticipated accession process.

"We will have to determine the way to shape the prospect of Ukraine joining Nato, which we opened in 2008 in Bucharest,” Macron said, speaking with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Elysée Palace in Paris. He added that, at the summit in Vilnius, Nato will decide on further support for Ukraine. "The decisions we will make will oblige us for years to come – I mean, first of all, the support of Ukraine, in which we must make long-term commitments," Macron emphasised. Macron noted that allies are helping Ukraine "reform the Ukrainian armed forces, promote interoperability with Alliance forces and provide support in the non-lethal sector."

The US was also initially keen to see Ukraine join the military alliance, but the Biden administration has apparently cooled on the idea in the meantime; US President Joe Biden said there would be no simplification or fast-tracking of Ukraine’s membership to Nato in June.

While leaders like European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that “Ukraine’s place is in Europe” during the Ukraine Recovery Conference on June 21-22 in a rousing display of  solidarity, when it comes to the practical details of that co-operation, the message is a lot more mixed.

The proposed measures aim to provide additional financial support for weapon supplies through the European Peace Facility and expand training programmes for Ukrainian soldiers. Furthermore, there is a possibility of EU training missions being conducted within Ukraine's territory.

The intention behind these commitments is to assure Kyiv of unwavering support from the Western nations, as the consensus on inviting Ukraine to join Nato “in the near future” remains uncertain, according to the FT.

The security guarantees would commit EU countries to commit military forces to any fight with Russia, something that more are reluctant to promise.

The initiative, devised by France, also seeks to weaken Europe’s dependence on the US security umbrella – another one of Marcon’s initiatives that is not proving popular. Macron’s security deals proposal has encountered opposition from several "neutral" EU member states, including Austria, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta, the Financial Times reports.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Neghammer stated on June 29 in Brussels: "For us as neutral states, it is clear that we cannot provide such security guarantees. Austria, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus have made it clear that they have objections." Austria retains strong commercial ties with Russia and remains dependent on Russian energy imports.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar added: "We are offering financial and political support to Ukraine. We are willing to continue making security commitments, but as a neutral country, we cannot engage in mutual defence commitments, as that would contradict our policy of neutrality."

In the other camp, British Defence Minister Ben Wallace has been a strong advocate for bringing Ukraine in to Nato quickly and giving it strong security guarantees. He believes that Ukraine should be able to "skip" the Nato Membership Action Plan (MAP) on its way to joining the Alliance, reported SKY News.

"I think we should absolutely consider skipping the Membership Action Plan," Wallace said. Both Sweden and Finland were allowed to skip MAP after they decided to abandon decades of neutrality and join the alliance as a result of Russia’s aggression.

At the same time, the British minister admitted that issues related to Ukraine's accession to Nato will not be resolved quickly, UBN reports. He also considers it unlikely that all issues regarding security guarantees for Ukraine will be resolved before the Nato summit in Vilnius. Earlier, UK Foreign Minister James Cleverley said that London would be very supportive if Ukraine could undergo a simplified process of joining Nato.

The issue of packing Ukraine’s peace militarily has been complicated by the slow progress of Ukraine's counter-offensive that has been underway for almost a month, but has made little progress, dampening hopes of a quick victory or a repeat of the success with the Kharkiv offensive in September, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) made rapid and large military gains. Additionally, the recent Wagner armed mutiny on June 24 has raised concerns about Russia's internal stability and the potential for Kyiv to exploit the situation.

Ukraine's primary objective regarding security is to attain full membership in Nato once the conflict with Russia concludes, says Zelenskiy. Kyiv hopes to receive a definitive signal during the upcoming Vilnius Nato summit scheduled for July.

Media reports suggest that there is currently no consensus on Ukraine's Nato membership amongst the members and the decision to accept Ukraine would have to be unanimous. While some allies express support for a clear pathway to membership, proposing a simplified accession process, others remain hesitant on the matter. France and Germany advocate for "stronger, concrete, very clear security guarantees" instead of focusing solely on discussions about Ukraine's accession.

Paris has even indicated its willingness to provide such guarantees independently, drawing a comparison to an "Israeli-style" security agreement.