Geneva talks did not address reducing Armed Forces, Ukraine's top general says
Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff Chief Andrii Hnatov (photo: facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua)
During the negotiations between the Ukrainian and American delegations on the peace plan in Geneva, there was no discussion about reducing the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff Chief Andrii Hnatov.
"There was no discussion about reducing the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The discussion concerned views on the size of the Armed Forces in peacetime. This is a very debatable topic," Hnatov said.
According to him, both the Kyiv and Washington sides expressed the "correct view" that the best guarantee for Ukraine would be a well-equipped and capable army.
Hnatov noted that understanding what the Ukrainian military will look like in the future also affects how the General Staff plans to encourage servicemembers to remain in service after the end of hostilities. And the General Staff already understands what needs to be done.
"All institutions must work on this. It is necessary to understand what the Ukrainian military will be, its size, financial support, social guarantees for servicemembers, and many other issues. This work falls not only within the competence of the General Staff," he emphasized.
Hnatov added that the General Staff already has a working vision of this process, and the document is currently being developed.
Geneva negotiations
On November 23, negotiations between the Ukrainian and American delegations on the US peace plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine took place in Geneva.
After the talks, the Financial Times reported that the document had been significantly shortened — from 28 points to 19.
At the same time, US President Donald Trump stated that the plan had 22 points remaining.
Ukraine confirmed that Kyiv and Washington agreed on an updated version of the plan, noting that the most sensitive aspects would be discussed directly by Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump.
In the initial version of the plan, it was stated that Ukraine should reduce its army to 600,000 soldiers.
Meanwhile, an RBC-Ukraine source said the peace plan should not include a radical, strict limitation on the size of the Ukrainian army. During the discussion, the Ukrainian delegation and attending military representatives provided explanations regarding the necessary strength of the Armed Forces under different conditions — both in peacetime and wartime.
