KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Washington had floated the idea of a new European security framework as part of efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. He cautioned that Moscow could exploit such talks to undermine NATO and redraw Europe’s borders.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces hit a major Russian oil facility linked to Moscow’s war effort, Ukraine’s General Staff said Saturday.
“In my view, this could be dangerous,” Zelenskyy told reporters Friday, referring to the proposed security framework. “This should not become the main agenda.” His remarks were released Saturday after an embargo expired.
Zelenskyy said he believed Russia wanted to reopen wider debates over European security instead of concentrating solely on ending the 4 1/2-year war in Ukraine.
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s desire to change borders in Europe is a fact. I am certain it is part of his plan to revise security guarantees across Europe,” he said. “That is dangerous because, in my view, issues like these are what create the conditions for wars or escalation.”
European leaders have insisted that Europeans must determine the continent’s security future. They have also warned against allowing Russia to set the terms of a new order or decide NATO’s direction.
US raised Donbas withdrawal in exchange for Ukraine’s membership in NATO
Zelenskyy said the United States had, for the first time, asked whether Ukraine might leave parts of the Donbas that remain outside Russian control if Kyiv were offered NATO membership. He repeated that Ukraine would not give up its land.
Kyiv is working with its partners on a broad security package that could include defined guarantees from NATO and the European Union, a well-equipped Ukrainian military, and military and financial assistance for a set period, Zelenskyy said. The proposal would also include a reconstruction plan.
“If the American side confirms this precisely to us, together with our other NATO partners, then I will ask Ukrainian society what it thinks: do we accept it or not?” Zelenskyy said.
He emphasized that any deal would stop short of recognizing occupied Ukrainian territories as part of Russia.
Zelenskyy also dismissed the prospect of Ukraine pledging neutrality, noting that such a move would require an amendment to the country’s constitution.
“If Putin expects Ukraine’s neutrality to be written into law, that will not happen,” he said. “We are not in NATO now anyway.”
Ukraine hits another major oil facility in Russia
Ukrainian attacks on the Samara oil pipeline station near the village of Prosvet in Russia’s Samara region ignited several storage tanks Friday, Ukraine’s General Staff said.
The Kremlin has not publicly commented on the reported strike.
The station plays an important role in the network used to send Russian oil to international markets, according to the General Staff. Ukraine’s military also reported striking the Lipetsk-2 airfield in Russia’s Lipetsk region.
Zelenskyy says Europe must decide its own future
Zelenskyy warned that broad negotiations over Europe’s security could give Putin an opportunity to demand changes to NATO’s military posture, including the removal of U.S. troops from the continent.
He said Putin had made similar proposals to then-President Joe Biden in 2021, seeking to redistribute influence in Europe and across the wider world.
“I think Putin will bring up Finland and Sweden. I am sure he will raise Hungary and the presence of American troops in the Baltic countries,” Zelenskyy said.
Any changes to Europe’s security structure, he added, should be considered by European NATO members only after the war has ended.
“The order should be: first a ceasefire, then an end to the war in Ukraine, followed by security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said. “There can be no security guarantees in Europe, or for Europe, without Ukraine.”
Energy ceasefire and prisoner exchanges are priorities
Zelenskyy said Ukraine entered the Abu Dhabi negotiations with several priorities, including an energy ceasefire, reopening the Black Sea, exchanging prisoners and laying the groundwork for a leaders’ summit aimed at ending the war.
He said Russian representatives did not have authority to settle some of the key issues and that Moscow had shown no willingness to accept an energy truce.
“At the meeting in Abu Dhabi, the Russian delegation said it did not have a mandate to decide this matter. But we can also see that they are unwilling,” he said, adding that negotiators had been instructed to take ceasefire questions directly to Putin.
Zelenskyy said talks in Moscow involving U.S. negotiators produced an understanding on a prisoner exchange involving more than 1,000 people on each side. The final figure was still being calculated, he said, putting the estimate at between 1,200 and 1,300.
He added that Washington backed Ukraine’s call for European nations to take part directly in future negotiations instead of being kept outside the central talks.
Britain, France, Germany and Italy were among the nations represented at the Abu Dhabi discussions, Zelenskyy said. He expected future meetings to include three to five European participants.
Zelenskyy questions Starshield restrictions
Zelenskyy accused SpaceX of restricting access to its Starshield satellite system in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, saying the limits were making it more difficult for Ukrainian forces to intercept Russian drones.
He said Starshield’s operating speed had been capped at 161 kph (100 mph) in occupied areas and that the restrictions had continued for five days.
Zelenskyy challenged the claim that the disruption was technical. He said the restrictions appeared to have been imposed by SpaceX, despite earlier assurances from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Starshield was more directly controlled by the U.S. government.
“The restrictions currently affecting Starshield suggest that SpaceX imposed them,” Zelenskyy said. “That is what our team is reporting to me. So it does not fully match what we were told earlier. We need to determine exactly what is happening.”
He said the limitations prevented Ukrainian forces from tracking and intercepting Russian jet-powered Shahed drones over occupied territory as they approached from the east. As a result, Ukrainian units had to wait until the drones entered areas where the restrictions were no longer in effect.
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