Ukraine War | Kyiv wants mutual assistance clause

Before his meeting with US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for security guarantees modeled on NATO. The guarantee must function like NATO's Article 5, Zelenskyy told journalists in Brussels during a meeting with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. This refers to the military assistance clause, according to which other states will intervene in support of an attacked country. EU membership for Ukraine would also be a guarantee of the country's security , Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy plans to be briefed on Trump's meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Alaska in Washington on Monday and discuss ending the war. "Putin has many demands, but we don't know all of them, and if there really are as many as we've heard, then it will take time to go through them all," Zelenskyy said. "This is impossible under the pressure of weapons, so it is necessary to declare a ceasefire and work quickly on a final agreement." Later, Zelenskyy said he agreed with von der Leyen, who had described the term "ceasefire" as irrelevant. Von der Leyen had said that what was important was that the war end.

Peace negotiations must begin from the front line, Zelenskyy said. At the same time, he pointed out that Putin has so far failed to completely take over the Donbass in the war. Regarding the territorial surrender demanded by the aggressor, Russia, he said that the Ukrainian constitution does not provide for this – nor does it provide for a land swap.

At the same time, he called for negotiations at a three-way summit with Putin and Trump – and demanded sanctions should the Kremlin leader refuse such a meeting. "Because the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia and within the framework of the trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia," Zelenskyy said. dpa/nd