Soviet leaders spoke of a united but neutral Germany, on the model of Austria. However tempted, the Western powers resisted. And in fact Ukraine itself initially proposed neutrality just after the Russian invasion of February 2022.
Konrad Adenauer, the first chancellor of West Germany, chose security over territory, and Germans supported him, re-electing him until he resigned in 1963.
“Adenauer decided that it was more important to have a solid defense agreement with the West and led West…