The article presents the process of Ukraine’s efforts to obtain credible and long-term security guarantees after the outbreak of full-scale war with Russia in February 2022. The study analyses the efforts of the Ukrainian authorities to obtain an invitation to Ukraine’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance and, in the absence of such an agreement, to gain security guarantees equivalent to Art. 5 of NATO from individual members of this organisation. The main attention was focused on the socio-political determinants of the formation of the idea of preserving statehood with the support of Western countries. The article also addresses the issues of Ukraine’s cooperation with individual states perceived by Kyiv as key partners for the country’s security, especially in the context of signed bilateral agreements on military cooperation. Attention is also given to the election of Donald Trump as President of the US and the resulting implications for the security of the Ukrainian state