Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky spelled out what he said were the “three pillars” of security guarantees his country needed to deter future Russian aggression under a peace deal to end Moscow’s ongoing war.
Zelensky was speaking at a press briefing on Friday, August 29.
Aside from recognition of territorial control, security guarantees for Ukraine are a major point of contention in peace negotiations with Russia, and a settlement hinges on an agreement about what they might look like.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration are brokering the peace negotiations, but the brutal war continues, and Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on territory and guarantees.
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Zelensky’s Three Pillars for Ukraine
Zelensky’s first pillar was maintaining the Ukrainian army at its current level of personnel and ensuring the military has stable funding for weapons, which would be provided by the U.S., through domestic production of equipment like drones and broader European supplies of materiel.
The second pillar would be a NATO-like guarantee in lieu of Ukraine’s membership of the alliance, which Trump has ruled out. Zelensky said he would discuss the practical details with Kyiv’s European allies, such as boots on the ground.
And the third pillar would be sanctions against Russia to punish and deter Moscow, including using seized Russian assets to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine once the fighting ends.
Though he did not name it as one of the three pillars, Zelensky said Ukraine’s membership of the European Union (EU) would offer economic and security guarantees.
Russia Rules NATO Troops Out
Russia has ruled out Western troops on the ground in Russia, especially those from NATO allies, saying it would not agree to guarantees that included such a provision.
Moscow says Ukraine’s desire for deeper ties to NATO was the main driver of its invasion, saying it posed a serious threat to Russia’s national security.
Instead, Moscow favors an arrangement involving the permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely Russia, China, the U.S., the U.K., and France, and other parties, such as Turkey.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said previously that Moscow must be involved in decisions about security guarantees for Ukraine, calling it a “road to nowhere” without Russia’s participation and consent.
Lavrov cited the failed 2022 effort in Istanbul to agree on a settlement that would end the war. He said Russia had agreed to Ukrainian proposals back then, only for the initiative to collapse before it could be signed.
“That is why we cannot agree with the idea that questions of security, of collective security, can now be decided without Russia’s participation,” Lavrov said, originally in Russian.
“It simply will not work…And I am convinced that in the West, and above all in the United States, they perfectly understand that seriously discussing issues of security without the Russian Federation is a utopia. It is a road to nowhere.”
