US links security guarantees to Ukraine giving up Donbas, Zelenskiy says
Written by: Daniel Flynn and Olena Harmash
KYIV, March 25 (Reuters) – The United States has made its offer of security guarantees for a peace deal in Ukraine conditional on Kiev ceding the entire eastern Donbas region to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters in an interview.
Zelenskiy said the United States is focused on its own conflict with Iran, while President Donald Trump is applying pressure on Ukraine to bring a quick end to the four-year war triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion.
“The Middle East certainly has influence on President Trump and I’m considering his next steps. In my opinion, President Trump is unfortunately still choosing the strategy of putting more pressure on the Ukrainian side,” he told Reuters.
The United States, Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of high-level trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi and Geneva this year, seeking to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II, which has devastated large parts of Ukraine and killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly said that solid security guarantees from international partners are needed to ensure that Russia does not restart hostilities in the future after any peace agreement is signed.
Zelenskiy said two vital questions regarding security guarantees remain unresolved: Who will help finance Ukraine’s arms purchases to maintain its military deterrent, and how exactly will its allies respond to any future Russian aggression?
Stating that he understood the “subtleties” of America’s stance, although he did not directly participate in the trilateral talks, the 48-year-old leader said, “When Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas, the Americans are ready to complete these guarantees at a high level.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin insists that control of the entire Donbas is an important element of his war aims; If Moscow could not achieve this at the negotiating table, it could achieve this on the battlefield.
But Russia’s progress has slowed in the last two years. Military analysts say it could take a long time and significant manpower to conquer all of Donbas, including the Fortress Belt, which consists of cities heavily fortified by the Ukrainian military.
Zelenskiy warned that the withdrawal would endanger the security of both Ukraine and Europe by ceding the region’s strong defensive positions to Russia.
“I would very much like the American side to understand that the east of our country is part of our security guarantees,” he said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zelenskiy said in January that the security guarantee document between Ukraine and the United States was “100% ready” and waiting to be signed. He said Tuesday there was still work to be done, following weekend talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Miami.
ZELENSKIY SAID THAT RUSSIA CLAIMED THAT WE WILL WITHDRAWAL
Speaking in the gilded meeting room of the presidential office in central Kiev, Zelenskiy said Russia was betting that Washington would lose interest if peace talks stalled and he walked away. He acknowledged that this situation carries some risks.
The fourth round of trilateral talks, planned to be held this month, was postponed due to the Iran conflict.
But Zelenskiy questioned whether Russia was willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands more of its soldiers to seize about 6,000 square kilometers of territory in Donbas that it does not already control. Trump repeated that a summit with him and Putin was the only way to resolve key issues regarding territorial and security guarantees to finalize a peace agreement.
The Ukrainian leader did not care about past tensions between himself and Trump. “I am not a box of chocolates or a car that will be liked or disliked by anyone,” he said. “In my opinion, the US President looks at the issue more pragmatically and probably wants the war to end as soon as possible. We also want to end it as soon as possible.”
Following Russia’s heavy bombardment of Ukrainian cities on Wednesday, Zelenskiy thanked the Trump administration for continuing the supply of Patriot missile defense systems despite increased demand for these weapons due to the conflict in the Gulf.
Ukrainian officials have previously expressed fears that shipments of U.S.-made Patriots, the only missile in Ukraine’s arsenal capable of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles, would be depleted by the conflict in Iran.
“Deliveries to us were not stopped. I am very grateful to President Trump and his team,” Zelenskiy said. “But the supply of Patriot missiles is not as large as we need.”
Ukraine, meanwhile, is making progress in producing its own long-range missiles and drones that would allow it to strike deep into Russia in retaliation for Russia’s bombing of Ukrainian cities, Zelenskiy said.
(Reporting by Daniel Flynn and Olena Harmash; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Lincoln Feast.)
