Zelensky States He Lacks Explicit Defense Guarantee from Allies

President Zelensky has stated that European allies have failed to provide concrete pledges that they will defend Ukraine in the event of a future Russian attack.

"I am asking this very question to all our partners and I have not received a definitive and straightforward response yet," he stated to the press on midweek.

These remarks follow a day after the UK and France signed a statement of purpose on deploying troops in Ukraine should a ceasefire agreement to conclude the conflict with Moscow is finalized.

However, full security guarantees have not been agreed. The US, which has been spearheading initiatives to halt the offensive, was reported to have abstained from signing such a pledge at talks in Paris on Tuesday.

Details of the Paris Talks

Following the negotiations in Paris, which included some 30 countries that comprise the so-called Coalition of the Willing, British PM Keir Starmer said the two nations would "establish military hubs across Ukraine" to prevent any future incursion, while French President Emmanuel Macron later said a significant number of soldiers may be sent.

Partner nations suggested that the US would take the lead in monitoring a truce. But the key issue of ceding land that Ukraine is being asked to grant to Russia as part of the peace proposals are continuing to be negotiated.

The Russian government has not yet commented on the announcement made in the French capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

The President's Evolving Stance

Sir Keir described the bilateral declaration as "a vital part of our commitment to stand with Ukraine for the long-term".

He continued: "It paves the way for the juridical structure under which British, French and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine's skies and seas, and regenerating Ukraine's military for the future."

The Ukrainian leader praised that agreement as a "huge step forward".

A day later, however, he seemed more cautious.

"I perceive the determination, the political resolve, and that the partners are ready, and the partners are ready to give us strong sanctions, strong security guarantees," he said when asked if nations in Europe would defend Ukraine.

"However, until we lack such security guarantees - formally ratified, endorsed by legislatures, backed by the U.S. Congress - this question cannot be answered. And even if they do, you still have to rely first and foremost on your inherent capabilities."

Persistent Challenges and Fighting

The Paris talks were also notable owing to the attendance of US President Donald Trump's peace envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Witkoff said the allies "mostly completed" their work on agreeing security protocols.

Last week, Zelensky said a peace deal was "ninety percent complete".

Territorial concessions and security guarantees have been at the forefront of unresolved issues for diplomats.

Putin has repeatedly warned that Ukraine's military must withdraw from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.

The Ukrainian President has thus far rejected ceding any territory, but has proposed that Ukraine could redeploy its forces to an established line - but only if Russia reciprocated the action.

Russian forces now holds about 75% of the Donetsk oblast, and some nearly all of the neighbouring Luhansk. The two regions constitute the Donbas industrial heartland.

Attacks have been escalating against cities in Ukraine - particularly targeting energy infrastructure. Moscow is also achieving slow progress in capturing more Ukrainian territory.

Ukrainian forces have retaliated at objectives inside Russia with drones, albeit with more limited success.