Ukraine won't limit army's strength as part of potential peace talks, Zelensky says

Ukraine will not agree to reduce its Armed Forces even if Kyiv receives an invitation to join NATO, President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists in Brussels overnight on Dec. 19, according to a Kyiv Independent reporter.

"Demilitarization" was one of the insincere excuses that Russian President Vladimir Putin used to justify a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Moscow demanded Ukraine to reduce its army to 50,000 people, five times fewer than the country had by 2022, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) investigation project Sistema reported in November, citing an obtained first draft of Moscow's peace offer to Kyiv.

According to Zelensky, Western guarantees to provide Kyiv with military and financial aid are not enough to guarantee that Putin will not attack Kyiv again.

"Therefore, the best thing is a strong army, a large army, the largest army in Europe. We simply have no right to limit the strength of our army in any case," the president said.

Kyiv's membership in NATO would be the best security guarantee, Zelensky reiterated during a briefing after meeting French President Emmanuel Macron in Brussels on Dec. 19.

"We do not expect (an invitation to NATO) from anyone, (but) we are fighting for this right," he added. Zelensky also told journalists that Ukraine will make every effort to be strong enough in 2025 to end the war through diplomacy.

Earlier, Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office, said that Kyiv is not prepared to enter negotiations with Russia as it lacks sufficient Western support to engage from a position of strength.

"We will do everything so that next year we can be strong and move on to diplomacy," Zelensky said.

"I don't believe that Putin wants the war to end, so we will figure it out. In any case, on our part, we are doing everything to end this war fairly for us, for Ukraine."

Ukraine has shifted its rhetoric amid growing expectations of possible ceasefire talks as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he aims to push Kyiv and Moscow to the negotiating table.

Zelensky sees ‘positive response’ from some European leaders on potential peacekeeping force in Ukraine

Ukraine is “discussing ideas with European leaders” on the potential deployment of European peacekeeping forces to the embattled country, President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters during a press briefing on Dec. 18.

The Kyiv IndependentDmytro Basmat