KYIV, Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said Sunday that his country needs security guarantees and more weapons from NATO to defend itself before any talks with Russia.
He made the comments after meeting with new EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and EU Council chief Antonio Costa, who are visiting Kiev to show support on their first day in office.
“Ukraine’s invitation to join NATO is an imperative for our survival,” Zelenskiy said at a press conference alongside Costa.
Ukraine faces a bitter winter ahead, with Russia unleashing devastating barrages against its power grid and Kiev’s exhausted forces losing ground on the front line.
Questions also swirl about the future of US support after Donald Trump takes office in January, with fears he could force Kiev to make painful concessions in pursuit of a quick peace deal.
Zelensky said his country needed to be in a “stronger position” before any talks with the Kremlin, and to “move forward with NATO” and long-range weapons to defend itself. “Good numbers,” he stressed.
“Only when we have all these things and we are strong, after that, we have to make a very important agenda to meet one or the other of the killers,” the Ukrainian leader said, adding that the EU and NATO to engage in any negotiations.
Costa said the EU would give its “unwavering” support to Ukraine.
“We have stood by you since day one of this war of aggression, and you can count on us to continue to stand by you,” he told Zielinski. The EU’s new leadership team is keen to show it stands by Kiev’s support at a critical moment in Ukraine’s nearly three-year fight against Russian aggression.
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened this week to target government buildings in Kiev with his new Oryshank missile, after the United States approved Ukraine’s firing of long-range ATACMS missiles into Russia.
A Russian drone dropped explosives on a bus in the southern Kherson region on Sunday, killing three people, officials said, as the Russian military claimed to have captured two new front-line villages in the east. is
On Friday, Zelenskiy began to outline his position ahead of any potential peace talks.
He called on Nato to provide security guarantees to parts of Ukraine controlled by Kiev to “prevent a hot war”, meaning other areas held by Russia. Will be willing to wait to retrieve it.
“If we have a conflict without a strong position for Ukraine, Putin will be back in two, three or five years,” Zelensky said on Sunday.
Callas told reporters on a trip to Ukraine that “the strongest security guarantee is NATO membership” for Kiev.
“We definitely need to discuss this — if Ukraine decides to draw the line somewhere, then how do we preserve the peace so that Putin doesn’t go any further,” he said.
But NATO diplomats say the alliance is unlikely to grant Ukraine membership soon, given opposition from a fleet of members wary of being dragged into war with Russia.
Zelensky insisted that Kiev was not “illusioned” about its prospects with NATO and acknowledged that there was deep reluctance from leaders of countries such as Hungary, as well as US President Joe Biden.