NATO deputy supreme allied commander John Stringer said Ukraine alone has the right to decide the future of its sovereign territories, placing Ukrainian consent at the centre of discussions about possible territorial concessions.
Ukrainska Pravda reported that Stringer made the remark in an interview with Euronews after being asked about possible pressure on Ukraine to relinquish parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. “As for territories, that is absolutely a matter for Ukrainians,” he said.
The intervention matters because it addresses the authority behind any territorial discussion, not merely the map under discussion. Stringer’s position draws a line against an arrangement imposed on Kyiv while leaving open the political question of what Ukraine itself might choose in negotiations.
Stringer also said he saw little evidence that Vladimir Putin had abandoned the maximalist objectives associated with 2022, which the report describes as including the annexation of Ukrainian territory. That is his assessment of the Kremlin’s intentions. It sharpens the relevance of his territorial argument: negotiations cannot be separated from the aims attributed to the party seeking concessions.
The interview is a senior NATO officer’s public position, not a newly announced NATO decision. The supplied report contains no collective Alliance policy, agreed territorial settlement or negotiating mechanism. Its immediate consequence is political rather than operational: Stringer has stated that the final authority over Ukraine’s sovereign territory belongs to Ukraine.
Sources
- Українська правда · Source date: 2026-11-12
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-12