Zelensky Asserts He Lacks Definitive Security Pledge from Allies
President Zelensky has stated that Ukraine's partners in Europe have failed to provide concrete pledges that they will protect his country in the case of a future Russian attack.
"I continue to pose this critical question to every one of our allies and I have not received a definitive and straightforward response yet," he told reporters on Wednesday.
His comments come a day after the UK and France inked a statement of purpose on deploying troops in Ukraine should a ceasefire agreement to end the war with Russia is reached.
However, comprehensive defense assurances have yet to be solidified. The US, which has been leading efforts to halt the offensive, was reported to have abstained from signing such a pledge at talks in Paris on Tuesday.
Details of the Paris Talks
Following the negotiations in Paris, which included some three dozen nations that form the so-called Coalition of the Willing, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK and France would "set up operational bases across Ukraine" to prevent any future incursion, while French President Emmanuel Macron later said a significant number of soldiers may be deployed.
Allies proposed that the US would assume a leading role in overseeing any ceasefire. But the key issue of territorial concessions that Ukraine is being asked to grant to Russia as part of the peace proposals are continuing to be negotiated.
Moscow has not yet commented on the declaration made in the city of Paris.
President Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the early months of 2022, and Russian forces currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
The President's Evolving Stance
Sir Keir described the bilateral declaration as "an essential component of our commitment to support Ukraine for the foreseeable future".
He continued: "It paves the way for the juridical structure under which allied military personnel could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine's skies and seas, and rebuilding Ukraine's military for the future."
The Ukrainian leader praised that agreement as a "significant leap of progress".
A day later, however, he appeared less optimistic.
"I perceive the determination, the political resolve, and that the partners are ready, and the partners are ready to give us strong sanctions, strong security guarantees," he said when asked if European countries would defend Ukraine.
"However, until we lack such security guarantees - legally binding, endorsed by legislatures, supported by the United States Congress - this question remains unresolved. And even if they do, you still have to rely first and foremost on your own strength."
Unresolved Issues and Ongoing Conflict
Negotiations in Paris were also notable owing to the presence of US President Donald Trump's peace envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
Witkoff said the participating countries "largely finished" their work on agreeing security protocols.
Recently, Zelensky said a settlement was "90% ready".
Questions of land and defense pledges have been at the forefront of unresolved issues for diplomats.
The Russian leader has consistently stated that Ukraine's military must pull back from the entirety of the Donbas region or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.
Zelensky has so far ruled out relinquishing any land, but has proposed that Ukraine could redeploy its forces to an established line - but only if Russia reciprocated the action.
Russian forces currently controls about three-quarters of the Donetsk region, and some 99% of the adjacent Luhansk region. The pair of oblasts form the Donbas industrial heartland.
Attacks have been escalating against cities in Ukraine - particularly targeting power facilities. Russia has also made incremental advances in capturing more Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine has hit back at Russian targets with drones, albeit with varying degrees of effectiveness.
