Andrii Buzynov, an expert from the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies, told Espreso about this."First, the main risk is the probability of repeating the history of the Budapest Memorandum — a conditional 'Budapest 2.0'. Because, as we see, NATO's Article 5 has no clear legal obligation to help a victim of aggression, but states that a country shall take such actions as it deems necessary. In other words, military assistance is exclusively a political decision," he said.The expert calls the second risky moment the absence of common interests between the guarantor states and Kyiv directly: for most European states, the priority is minimizing the risk of direct confrontation with Russia. "It is precisely this circumstance that makes unlikely a scenario in which guarantor countries would actually send their armed forces to defend Ukraine, causing it a high level of fear of abandonment. In other words, the absence of complete common interests between Kyiv and potential guarantors calls into question the readiness of the latter to engage in direct confrontation with Russia," the expert emphasizes.He notes: Western partners may feel increased fear of being drawn into conflict with Russia, as they will be afraid that Kyiv will misinterpret the received guarantees and view them as "carte blanche" in relations with Moscow."Thus, 'Article 5-style' security guarantees cannot be perceived as a universal or reliable solution for Ukraine. They are more likely to become an instrument of political bargaining rather than a real guarantee of defense. During this bargaining, our Western partners will constantly have a desire to convert formally limited obligations into significant diplomatic and economic concessions from the weaker partner. For us, the time lost may result in the loss of statehood," Buzynov notes.In the expert's opinion, we have no other option but to consider alternative ways of ensuring our own security."What could they be? Development of the domestic defense-industrial complex together with diversification of external ties — building reliable partnerships with countries that are now becoming centers of power in the new multipolar world order that is forming. The only problem is that we have extremely little time for this," Andrii Buzynov concludes.