Two developments this month have underscored the perilous nature of Ukraine’s geopolitical position and why joining NATO would be a poor remedy.

First, the Biden administration struck a deal with Germany over the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. It’s an energy project often described by Eastern Europeans as a threat to their security. Instead of imposing sanctions on the firms working on the nearly finished pipeline, the administration sought commitments from Berlin that it would invest in Ukrainian energy infrastructure and provide diplomatic support to the Three Seas Initiative, a geopolitical forum of 12 Central and Eastern European countries located on the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black seas.