NATO should work out common security guarantees for Ukraine if it is not ready to let us join, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

"Our partners, if they are not ready to take Ukraine into NATO ... because Russia does not want Ukraine to be in NATO, should work out common security guarantees for Ukraine," Zelensky said in an interview with the Reuters news agency on Tuesday.

Zelensky needs legal security guarantees, which would include guarantees of territorial integrity, border protection, as well as Ukraine's special relations with all neighbors and security.

In his opinion, world leaders should support states that seek to uphold democratic principles.

"We have a war every day, we need help every day," he said. "There is not a lot of time for discussion," the president said, adding "It is very important to know that if Ukraine falls, then all these (Russian) troops will be on the borders of your NATO member countries .... and you will be facing the same question there."