Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday called for the creation of a European army to boost the continent’s defenses as he warned that Russia was “not preparing for dialogue” to advance possible credible peace talks.
Zelenskyy said Kyiv had intelligence that Russia plans to send troops to its ally Belarus this summer under the pretense of training exercises, dubbing it a new “Russian province” that poses a direct threat to bordering NATO countries.
“We must build the armed forces of Europe, so that Europe’s future depends only on Europeans and decisions on Europe are made in Europe,” Zelenskyy told the Munich Security Conference in Germany, in a nod to seemingly wavering U.S support for the region’s security.
“Europe has to become self sufficient, united by common strengths,” he continued. “Let’s be honest now, we can’t rule out the possibility that America might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it.”
The Ukrainian president met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Friday to discuss rising hopes for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, but noted that his country wanted “security guarantees” before any talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin can commence.
“This is not a country that wants peace,” Zelenskyy said of Russia. “It is not preparing for dialogue.”
Zelenskyy said Saturday that such security guarantees could not credibly come from Moscow but rather must come from Western allies, most notably the U.S.
“We cannot agree to a ceasefire without real security guarantees,” he said. “Putin cannot offer real security guarantees — not just because he is a liar, but because Russia, in its current state, needs war to hold power together.” CNBC has contacted the Kremlin for a comment on Zelenskyy’s remarks.
Zelenskyy on Friday told NBC News that it would be “very, very, very difficult” for Ukraine to survive without U.S. military support, both now and in the event of a possible future Russian invasion.
He also told the conference earlier in the day that Ukraine would need to double the size of its army if it was unable to join NATO.
US Vice President JD Vance (R), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) meet on the sidelines of the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany on February 14, 2025.
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Zelenskyy reiterated Saturday that he was not yet prepared to retreat on NATO membership for Ukraine.
“I also will not take NATO membership for Ukraine off the table. But right now, the most influential member of NATO seems to be Putin because his whims have the power to block NATO decisions,” he said.
However, he also pointed to the possible creation of a new NATO within Ukraine. Such a military defense, he said, would run the eastern borders of Ukraine, Belarus, Finland and the Baltic states.
“My proposal — Ukraine’s eastern border, Belarus eastern border, the eastern borders of the Baltic states, Finland’s eastern border — that is the strongest security line for all of us in Europe, because that is the line of international law,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that U.S. troops would not be stationed in Ukraine to act as a deterrent to further Russian aggression. He has suggested, instead, that Washington and Kyiv would strike an economic pact, focusing on the latter’s vast supply of critical minerals, to provide the embattled country with a post-war security shield.
U.S.-Russia meeting without Ukraine would be ‘dangerous’
Global defense and security officials are gathered in Munich, Germany for the annual three-day conference, where the future of Ukraine, peace talks with Russia and reshaping Europe’s security and defense architecture are at the forefront of discussions.
Prospects for a peace deal returned to the fore this week after President Trump held separate phone calls with both Putin and, later, Zelenskyy. After initially indicating that a bilateral deal could be struck between Washington and Moscow, Trump later said that Ukraine’s Zelenskyy would be involved, along with “a lot of other people.”
Zelenskyy warned Saturday that a meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents without the involvement of Ukraine, would be “dangerous.”
U.S. officials have, nevertheless, poured cold water on several of Zelenskyy’s hard lines for an agreement, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday saying that both NATO membership and the reinstatement of Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders were unrealistic outcomes.