“We must all understand that Putin does not want to end the war” because he has not achieved “his essential target: the independence of Ukraine,” said the Ukrainian president.
Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2025. (AFP / FABRICE COFFRINI)
Guaranteeing Ukraine’s security in the event of a truce with Russia would be the job of “at least” 200,000 European soldiers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky estimated in a video released on Wednesday January 22
“200,000 is a minimum. It’s a minimum. Otherwise, it’s nothing”
declared the Ukrainian president on Tuesday during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland), in an interview shared on the presidency’s website the next day. This is the first time that a senior Ukrainian official has publicly mentioned the number of such a contingent, although this project has been discussed behind the scenes for several months between kyiv and its Western allies.
French President Emmanuel Macron had put forward the idea of stationing Western troops in Ukraine to supervise a possible ceasefire agreement with Russia, which launched the invasion of its Ukrainian neighbor three years ago and occupies today about 20% of its territories in the East and South.
For weeks, speculation about possible talks to end the conflict has been increasing, against a backdrop of questions about the position that the new American president Donald Trump will adopt, while the United States is the main provider of aid military and financial in kyiv.
Trump on Tuesday deemed new sanctions against Russia “likely” if Moscow does not negotiate
the end of the war against Ukraine. He further indicated that the United States would “look into” continuing military aid to kyiv.
“Very difficult” for Trump
For his part, from Davos, Volodymyr Zelensky estimated that the American president could apply “total sanctions” against Russia, in particular its energy sector and “give Ukraine all the weapons it asks for” to threaten Vladimir Putin . “Except of course nuclear weapons, we are sane people,” added the Ukrainian president.
Even before his inauguration on Monday, Donald Trump affirmed that he was preparing a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to “put an end” to this conflict. “I am therefore not surprised that the United States is having contacts with Putin” but Ukraine must be “a priority” for the American president, said Mr. Zelensky.
“Because we are allies of the United States.
We are the victim. Putin is the occupier.
And we didn’t start the war, he started it,” he argued.
End the war that left tens of thousands dead on each side and ravaged Ukraine
“will be very difficult for President Trump”
a encore prévenu Volodymyr Zelensky.
“We must all understand that Putin does not want to end the war” for lack of having achieved “its essential target: the independence of Ukraine,” launched Mr. Zelensky. “Destroying it is his dream.” Ukraine “will not recognize” the occupied territories as Russian, “even if all the allies unite” to demand it, he insisted, while suggesting that it could concede them for a time in order to stop hostilities.
“There will be no forgiveness, no legal recognition
but we must do everything to end the hot phase of the war,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.
