Ceasefire is difficult question - Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Peace with Russia is impossible without security guarantees for Ukraine, including EU membership and funding for the army. Practical steps and a ceasefire are now needed, stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, answering a question from an RBC-Ukraine correspondent during a press conference.
During the press conference, the journalist asked the President of Ukraine what a just peace is and who will control which territories in the future. He also noted that this year Ukraine will not receive the 1991 borders and asked what a just peace means.
Zelenskyy explained that the main task today is to force Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to end the hot phase of the war, but noted that this will be a long and difficult process.
"Security guarantees are theoretically one story, but in practice, if we are talking about economic security guarantees, this is EU membership for us. This is one thing. The second is the financing of the Ukrainian army, at least 800 thousand, if we are not yet in NATO," the head of Ukraine emphasized.
At the same time, Zelenskyy noted that Kyiv understands that the United States and several European countries are now against it.
"We understand that NATO is not there yet, but it will be on the table," he said.
Speaking about the ceasefire, Zelenskyy emphasized the need to provide real security guarantees and verification of the process.
"When you have very active actions on the border of 1000 km, who will verify it? Remember, after Minsk, there were shots fired there, and no one could control it, there were dead and wounded. This is a complicated question, so I won't be able to answer everything right now. We need practical steps," - said the Ukrainian leader.
The President concluded by noting that it is important to have a clear understanding of what security guarantees the United States and Europe can provide.
"We need to understand what security guarantees the US can give us and what guarantees Europe can give us. This is step 1," he summarized.
Earlier today, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared his readiness to resign in exchange for peace in Ukraine.
As a reminder, Zelenskyy is giving a press conference today, February 23, in connection with the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. It follows the results of the forum "Ukraine. Year 2025".
