Ukraine-US security guarantee draft agreement ready for Trump's approval, Zelensky says
The draft of the Ukraine-U.S. security agreement is "essentially ready" to be finalized, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 8.
Further approval from U.S. President Donald Trump is needed, Zelensky added.
The announcement followed a summit in Paris earlier this week that saw European, U.S., and Ukrainian officials discuss security guarantees. Kyiv, France, and the U.K. signed a declaration of intent for a post-war deployment of a multinational force in Ukraine.
According to The Times, each country is ready to send up to 7,500 troops to Ukraine once the war is finished.
For weeks, Kyiv and Washington have been working separately on the U.S. security guarantees draft and a framework for ending Russia's all-out war.
"Complex issues from the basic framework for ending the war were also addressed, and the Ukrainian side presented possible options for finalizing this document," Zelensky said on social media, referring to territorial issues and control of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
"We understand that the American side will engage with Russia, and we expect feedback on whether the aggressor is genuinely willing to end the war."
After meeting with Trump in Florida in late December, Zelensky said that U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine are outlined for a period of 15 years, with a possibility for extension.
Amid ongoing Ukraine-U.S. talks, Moscow continues its relentless attacks on Ukraine, pounding the country's energy infrastructure. In recent days, Russia has targeted regional capitals in the east and south, leaving Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts nearly without power on the evening of Jan. 7.
"It is necessary that pressure on Russia continues to increase at the same intensity as the work of our negotiating teams," Zelensky said.
"The feasibility of future security guarantees must be proven by our partners' ability to exert effective pressure on the aggressor at this very stage."
